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Aug 26, 2026 5:30 PM - Connect Newsroom - Ramandeep Kaur with files from The Canadian Press

Major Blow to B.C. Conservatives as Two MLAs Quit Party

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The departures mark the fourth major setback for the party in just 12 days under the leadership of Kerry-Lyn Findlay. (Photo: The Canadian Press)

Two B.C. Conservative MLAs, Rosalyn Bird of Prince George-Valemount and Teresa Wat of Richmond-Bridgeport, have resigned from the party and will now sit as independent members in the legislature.

The departures mark the fourth major setback for the party in just 12 days under the leadership of Kerry-Lyn Findlay. Both Bird and Wat have expressed dissatisfaction with Findlay’s leadership and the way the party has been operating.

Earlier, two senior MLAs, Ian Paton and Peter Milobar, also left the party after raising concerns about Findlay’s leadership and her approach to running the party.

The B.C. Conservatives won 44 seats in the 2024 provincial election under former leader John Rustad. However, following a series of resignations and departures, the party’s number of MLAs has now fallen to 34.

The internal turmoil within the party does not appear to be over. Former B.C. Conservative leader Trevor Bolin, who led the party from 2009 to 2023, said he has heard that as many as eight to 10 members could potentially leave the party.

Bolin warned that if that many members depart, it would become extremely difficult for Findlay to remain leader of the B.C. Conservatives.

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