The Conservative Party of B.C. has lost two more MLAs as Donegal Wilson and Scott McInnis became the eighth and ninth members to quit caucus in recent weeks, both citing concerns about party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s leadership.
“I never imagined things could go this wrong, this quickly,” Wilson, MLA for Boundary-Similkameen, said in a statement.
Wilson, who was elected in 2024, said she remains a conservative in principle but added that communication within the party had broken down and she has worries about the direction under Findlay, particularly around staffing decisions.
McInnis, MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke, said in a separate statement that he no longer supports “the direction, judgment and decisions of Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s leadership.”
“The party has increasingly become an exclusive private club more concerned with ideological bona fides than building the broad coalition required to serve British Columbians and form government,” he said.
Wilson and McInnis follow seven other MLAs to step away from the Conservatives, the latest being Á’a:líya Warbus, MLA for Chilliwack-Cultus Lake, who on Monday also said she had lost confidence in Findlay.
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The B.C. Conservative caucus said in a statement that it remains focused on its work as the Official Opposition to “[hold] the NDP government accountable and restoring prosperity for the people of this province.”
Findlay will run in a byelection triggered by Conservative MLA for Abbotsford-Mission Reann Gasper’s decision to step down from her role to allow the Conservative leader to seek a seat.
Findlay said the criticisms by departing members of her caucus are baseless.
“What we are seeing is a co-ordinated political attack designed to sidetrack our campaign at the very moment we are taking our message directly to the people of Abbotsford-Mission,” she said.
Findlay said she has spent her career in positions of significant public trust, including as a lawyer, a former Canadian Human Rights Tribunal judge, a King’s Counsel, a member of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and as a federal cabinet minister.
The B.C. Conservatives’ chief of staff Chris Delaney also resigned Wednesday.
Findlay named Gasper as her new chief of staff. Gasper had served as deputy chief of staff after stepping down as MLA.
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Findlay was elected as party leader in May. Since then, the party has lost key staffers and faced allegations that she attempted to induce MLAs to step down to open a seat for her in the B.C. Legislature, a claim which she has denied as a political smear.
Two ex-Conservatives, Peter Milobar and Ian Paton, say they intend to form a new party.
