Who is the BC Conservatives’ new leader?
Courtesy of the Conservative Party of British Columbia
Kerry-Lynne Findlay won a heavily contested leadership race for the BC Conservative Party on Saturday night, with 51 percent of the vote. Findlay has taken the leadership position from interim leader Trevor Halford, who himself took over in December after former leader John Rustad resigned.
Findlay’s platform, according to her website, seeks to combat not only Premier David Eby’s NDP government but also the “BC Liberal insiders” within the Conservatives, according to her. In fact, the word “Liberal” is used ten times versus the more meagre use of “NDP” only three times. This reflects Findlay’s intentions to pull the party’s politics closer to the right-wing of the spectrum. Many BC Liberal MLAs defected to the provincial Conservatives after the party rebranded to BC United in 2023, including Rustad himself.
Angelo Isidorou, Executive Director of the BC Conservatives, told Coastal Front that Findlay has a “robust” plan for the province’s economy. “Whether it is cutting taxes, creating a western alliance of provinces, or keeping our streets safe, Conservatives under her leadership have a clear plan,” he said. “I am certain she will have more to share in the days to come.”
Findlay has faced allegations of corruption while campaigning for the federal Conservatives in the 2025 election. This led the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections to open an investigation into her. The BC Conservatives’ Leadership Election Organizing Committee also considered disqualifying her for the leadership race she just won. The investigation is still ongoing at the time of this writing.
Findlay has also been accused of using divisive, racist rhetoric in her politics by rival Conservative candidate Iain Black. NDP Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside said, “Kerry-Lynne Findlay and her supporters in caucus have more in common with Donald Trump’s Republicans than they do with Canadian Conservatives.” She also brought up a moment from the leadership debate where Findlay accused Conservative rival, Peter Milobar, of being in a conflict of interest on DRIPA due to the Indigenous background of his wife and children.
In a media scrum on Tuesday, Premier David Eby said, “from my perspective, the job that she’s applying for right now looks a lot more like MAGA regional manager than the premier of British Columbia. But I’ll stay tuned and hear what her plans are.”
Platform
Courtesy of CBC
Findlay’s platform also has highlights such as “Get woke ideology out of our schools,” “Put freedom first,” and “Cut taxes.” On her more specific “Policy” section, Findlay doubles down on schools, completely targeting the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) “ideology” in BC public schools. As of this writing, no other policies are elaborated or featured on her website.
Findlay has stepped into the role of BC Conservative leader during a period of intense internal strife within the party. In the past year, six MLAs have been ousted from the party and have turned into Independents. Five out of the six were for reasons related to Rustad’s leadership, with the sixth, Hon Chan, removed after being charged with assault, assault by choking, and uttering threats.
There is a strong tension in the party between the centre-leaning, former BC Liberal segment in the party and the farther right, “populist” section who backs Findlay. Even ousted MLAs Jordan Kealy and Tara Armstrong threw their support behind Findlay for her leadership campaign, which could open doors for their future reintegration into the caucus.
Findlay was formerly a federal Conservative MP for Delta-Richmond East from 2011-2015, also representing South Surrey-White Rock from 2019-2025, before being unseated by current Liberal MP Ernie Klassen. During her most recent tenure, she was the Chief Opposition Whip under federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
Throughout her entire federal career, Findlay has sponsored only one bill (C-391), which sought to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (possession of weapons and drugs in hospitals). The bill has yet to have a second reading in the House of Commons since 2024.
She is also married to MLA Brent Chapman, a BC Conservative who represents the district of Surrey South. As Findlay does not officially have an electoral seat, Chapman told Sitka Media he was open to the idea of stepping down to let her run in a by-election, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
The next provincial election will be held no later than October 21, 2028, but there is always a possibility it will be called earlier.
