Upheaval in B.C. Conservative caucus unabated as Findlay resigns as leader

Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned as the leader of British Columbia’s Conservatives on Sunday after weeks of upheaval in the official Opposition caucus, though she said she would remain the party’s candidate in an upcoming byelection.

A statement from Findlay said stepping down was not an easy decision, but she believed it was “the right one for our movement and our province.”

Her tenure as Conservative leader, which lasted fewer than four months, was marked by infighting, firings, a string of defections by sitting legislators and the recent revelation that a private investigator was hired to look into her critics.

Findlay’s resignation came just hours after legislator Linda Hepner announced she was leaving the Conservative caucus, citing the party’s direction under Findlay, bringing to 13 the number of sitting MLAs who have exited since August.

On Thursday, Findlay told the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention that she was “not going anywhere,” after more tumult for her party, roiled by the revelation of the private eye and calls for her to resign at overnight caucus meetings last week.

But her resignation followed just a few days later.

Findlay’s statement posted to social media on Sunday said she had hoped to spend the first months of her leadership travelling B.C., listening to residents and “making the case for what a strong, united Conservative movement could accomplish.”

Instead, the former federal cabinet minister from the Harper era said too much time and attention had been consumed by “fighting amongst ourselves” when that energy should have been channeled into challenging the governing NDP.

Findlay said she would not allow an internal battle over her leadership to become a distraction from the work people need from a strong opposition.

“I have made decisions I would make differently with the benefit of hindsight,” she said. “I have listened. I have reflected. And I take responsibility for the decisions that were mine to make.”

Findlay’s statement also said attacks on someone’s character and family, “and threats directed toward them,” cross a line that should concern everyone regardless of their politics.

Calling herself a wife, mother and grandmother, she said disagreement should never “become personal destruction.”

Following Findlay’s resignation, former Conservative leader John Rustad, who was ejected from the caucus on Friday, said the next interim Conservative leader wouldn’t have to be a sitting member of the legislature.

“It just has to be somebody who can pull this party together … and who can show the province a vision for a prosperous British Columbia,” he told reporters in Victoria.

“People want change. We are going to deliver that for them.”

Political commentator David Black said Findlay failed at caucus management, just as Rustad did. But rather than learn lessons from the Rustad era, he said Findlay made her own mistakes.

“She declared a culture war in the middle of a trade war. She didn’t invite the defeated leadership contenders into her circle,” said Black, an associated professor in the School of Communication and Culture at Royal Roads University, in an interview Sunday.

“She didn’t find a way to make conservatism inclusive of the fiscal, social and cultural conservatives that define the moment today.”

Findlay said she would stay on as the Conservative candidate in the Sept. 26 byelection in Abbotsford-Mission as she aims to secure a seat in the legislature.

Former MLA Reann Gasper had given up the seat to allow Findlay to run.

Earlier Sunday, Hepner, the MLA for Surrey-Serpentine River, joined a string of former Conservatives who have defected in recent weeks.

In a message provided to The Canadian Press, Hepner said she had “lost confidence” in the party leadership’s “willingness to listen … and to consider perspectives beyond its immediate circle.”

Hepner said her decision was spurred by the expulsion of Rustad and two other legislators from the Conservative caucus on Friday, former interim leader Trevor Halford and Skeena MLA Claire Rattée.

Her message said Rustad in particular built the Conservatives up from a single elected member after he was ousted from the former BC Liberals and sat as an Independent before becoming the sole Conservative MLA in 2023.

“My heart is heavy to leave those in caucus I’ve come to care for and to admire but my tolerance for the current upheaval has been exhausted,” she said.

Rattée, meanwhile, issued a statement saying Findlay’s resignation gave MLAs the opportunity to come together to be a credible government-in-waiting capable of defeating Premier David Eby.

Speculation has swirled that Eby has been poised to call a snap election as the Conservatives shed caucus members.

Rattée warned Eby on Sunday not to mistake “the growing pains of our movement” for weakness, and said she would run in the next election under the party’s banner.

Eby, when asked about an early vote on Friday, replied “we haven’t made any decisions yet.”

But the premier said he didn’t think it was “ever wrong to ask British Columbians about which direction we should go.”

Eby and the New Democrats had yet to comment on Findlay’s resignation, while the party’s MLAs were called in for a meeting to discuss it later Sunday.

Prince George legislator Sheldon Clare, who was appointed Opposition house leader under Findlay, said he was saddened by her resignation as leader.

His former colleagues who left or were removed from the caucus in recent weeks sought to accelerate change or pursue their own interests, Clare told The Canadian Press in a text message on Sunday.

Hepner appears to have opted against joining CentreBC, whose ranks swelled on Friday as eight former provincial Conservatives announced they would join, including former Opposition finance critic Peter Milobar, who became its leader.

The other legislators included six other recent defectors from the Conservatives — Bruce Banman, Rosalyn Bird, Ian Paton, Teresa Wat, A’a:liya Warbus and Donegal Wilson — who said previously they would form their own party with Milobar.

The eighth was Elenore Sturko, who was ousted from the Conservatives last year.

Formed in March 2025 without a sitting MLA, CentreBC is now set to become the third largest party in the legislature when it resumes next month.

Milobar said Friday that CentreBC planned to run candidates in all 93 ridings in the event of an early election.

The B.C. legislature website on Sunday showed the Conservatives with 24 members, down from 25 the day before, with Independents up to 18.

CentreBC issued a brief statement following Findlay’s resignation, saying its message to B.C. voters remained the same: “We will put forward a serious, stable option in the next election to defeat the disastrous NDP government.

“We are hard at work ensuring we are election-ready as we face the possibility of an absurd and unnecessary election call in a matter of hours.”

— With files from Wolfgang Depner

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2026.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press