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4w ago

Findlay Resigns as B.C. Conservative Leader; Doerkson Appointed Interim

Weeks of defections fractured the opposition, leaving the party short on experienced MLAs and creating uncertainty over a possible snap election by Premier David Eby.

Former BC Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay speaks during a Conservative party barbecue at the Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum in Prince George, BC on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. On Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, Findlay announced she was resigning immediately as leader.
MLA Lorne Doerkson speaks in 2024 with then BC Conservative leader John Rustad.
Former Surrey mayor Linda Hepner, who was announced as the B.C. Conservative candidate for Surrey-Serpentine River earlier in the day, is introduced during an address by leader John Rustad, not seen, at a Greater Vancouver Board of Trade event in Vancouver, on Thursday, June 20, 2024.
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Overview

  • Kerry-Lynne Findlay announced her immediate resignation on Sunday, Sept. 20, saying internal conflict had consumed the party’s energy and that she would remain the Conservative candidate in the Sept. 26 Abbotsford-Mission byelection.
  • Hours after Findlay stepped down the party board named MLA Lorne Doerkson as interim leader, a role that the Conservative constitution bars from seeking the permanent leadership right away.
  • A wave of departures and expulsions since mid-August has cut the Conservative caucus by about a dozen MLAs, with several former members joining Peter Milobar’s new CentreBC party, which is now the third-largest caucus.
  • Reporting has documented contested personnel moves, allegations that a former senior party official hired a private investigator to probe critics, and a leaked audio clip that prompted RCMP attention and ethical questions.
  • The turmoil leaves the official Opposition disorganized just as Premier David Eby is publicly preparing his caucus and could call an early provincial election, a move that would test the Conservatives’ readiness and risk further disruption for voters.