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VICTORIA — The new party formed by British Columbia legislators who have defected from the provincial Conservatives in recent weeks gained a seventh member on Monday, with interim leader Peter Milobar calling it an exciting development as the fledgling caucus works toward official recognition when the legislature resumes next month.
Donegal Wilson, member of the legislature for Boundary-Similkameen, said she made the decision after spending the last week talking with residents of her southern Interior riding.
Wilson said she did not plan to join the new party when she quit the Conservatives on Sept. 2 but found many areas of agreement with its members.
“When I left the B.C. Conservative caucus, I left because I could no longer support the leadership of Kerry-Lynne Findlay. I said then that I was leaving a caucus, not my principles, and that has not changed,” she said in a statement.
Wilson said both the governing NDP and Opposition B.C. Conservatives are largely focused on ideological issues, leaving many voters politically homeless.
“As a fiscal conservative, I saw an opportunity to get in and help form the new party,” she said in an interview. “So, that is why I chose to go now.”
Milobar said the legislators were close to finalizing the constitution and foundational principles for the as-yet unnamed party.
He said the party was working with Elections BC, but the agency was in a “holding pattern” until after the Sept. 26 byelection in Abbotsford-Mission, where voters will decide whether Findlay, the Conservative leader, will have a seat in the legislature.
“We’re still on track and aiming to be ready and recognized with our name approved by Oct. 5,” when the legislature resumes, he said.
Milobar, a former Opposition finance critic who had run for the B.C. Conservative leadership, said Monday there wouldn’t be a “massive gulf” between the Conservatives and the new party he was forming on every issue.
“We are coming up with policy and direction and a set of principles that resonate with the broader public that people will see themselves reflected in, regardless of how they voted in the past.”
The party’s stance would reflect the concerns of “a modern British Columbia family,” including the cost of living, housing and health care, he told reporters in Vancouver outside the Union of B.C. Municipalities annual convention.
Milobar said the name of the new party would not include the terms “Liberal” or “Conservative,” detaching it from any association with unrelated parties at the federal level.
Milobar founded the party with Ian Paton, another legislator who quit the Conservative caucus last month, and it has since been joined by Bruce Banman, A’a:liya Warbus, Rosalyn Bird, Teresa Wat and now Wilson.
They are among nine legislators who have defected from the Conservatives under Findlay, who narrowly won the party’s leadership contest in May.
Two remaining former Conservatives, Scott McInnis and Brennan Day, have said they will sit as Independents.
Milobar said he and other members of the new party have had conversations with sitting Conservatives.
“Some, you know, are maybe closer to potentially leaving or not. Others want to see what happens in the byelection or not,” he said.
Asked about possible collaboration with Centre BC and other potential right-of-centre alternatives, Milobar said there was room to continue having discussions.
But he said the new party he has helped form is the only option with sitting legislators and the benefits and resources they bring.
Wilson said former and current Conservative caucus members will have to make their own decisions for their own reasons in choosing a direction.
“But I do think we are building something exciting, and hopefully, they will want to come and be part of it.”
Wilson said she’s not interested in rebuilding an old, failed party.
“The new party has made significant strides in a matter of weeks and I am so thrilled to join this team and help build a credible alternative to the NDP that British Columbians can choose in the next election, whenever that may be.”
Those who have quit the B.C. Conservatives have cited issues around Findlay’s leadership and strategies.
Banman has said that Findlay is “unelectable” and levelled scathing criticism about the direction of the party under her leadership, calling out those around her for creating a “purity test” of whether legislators were “hard right enough.”
Findlay is scheduled to speak at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention on Thursday, with Premier David Eby set to speak the next day.
— With files from Brenna Owen in Vancouver
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2026.
Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
