B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay speaks at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention in Vancouver on Thursday. Findlay announced her resignation on Sunday, saying that too much energy had been spent on party infighting.Rich Lam/The Canadian Press
Kerry-Lynne Findlay has resigned as leader of the Conservative Party of B.C. less than four months after taking the helm, ending a brief and tumultuous tenure beset by controversies, an exodus of MLAs and escalating internal opposition to her leadership.
Ms. Findlay announced her resignation on Sunday, amid speculation that Premier David Eby could be preparing to call a snap election.
In a three-page statement, Ms. Findlay said too much energy has been spent on party infighting that should have been directed toward challenging the NDP and preparing to form government.
“Sometimes leadership means stepping forward. Sometimes leadership means standing your ground. And sometimes leadership means knowing when the interests of something larger than yourself require you to step aside,” she said.
“Today, I am choosing to step aside.”
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Ms. Findlay, a former federal Conservative cabinet minister who campaigned on a message of “faith, family and freedom,” narrowly defeated runner-up Caroline Elliott 51 to 49 per cent on the fourth ballot in a May 30 leadership contest. Beginning Aug. 14, a steady stream of MLAs began quitting the caucus, all citing issues related to Ms. Findlay’s leadership.
As of Sunday, 13 members had departed. Ten of them quit, including one earlier on Sunday: Surrey-Serpentine River’s Linda Hepner. Ms. Findlay removed the other three. A 14th MLA, Reann Gasper, gave up her seat in Abbotsford-Mission to allow Ms. Findlay to run.
Ms. Findlay said Sunday that she would remain the Conservative candidate for that by-election, scheduled for Sept. 26.
Factoring in six more members who either quit or were expelled before Ms. Findlay took over, the party now has 24 MLAs, down from 44 after the province’s 2024 election.
Her resignation followed a remarkable month of upheaval for an opposition that had come within three seats of forming government.
Leaked recordings have fuelled allegations of misconduct against Ms. Findlay. She is also facing allegations that a private investigator had been hired by the Conservative Party of B.C.’s former executive director to surveil her potential critics. Ms. Findlay has denied any wrongdoing.
Until Sunday, Ms. Findlay had struck a defiant tone, telling delegates at the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention in Vancouver three days earlier that she was “not going anywhere.”
In her statement Sunday, she described the increasingly personal nature of the turmoil surrounding her leadership.
“My children and grandchildren see what is written and said. My family lives with the consequences of decisions I make in public life,” Ms. Findlay said.
“And there comes a moment when leadership requires you to consider not simply whether you can continue a fight, but whether continuing that fight serves the people and the cause you entered public life to serve.”
Hamish Telford, a political scientist at the University of the Fraser Valley, said Ms. Findlay’s brief tenure reflects the unraveling of the broad centre-right coalitions that historically united B.C. conservatives around economic issues, despite differences on social policy.
“Modern conservative populists aren’t particularly interested in fiscal and economic issues. They’re motivated by these very divisive social issues,” Prof. Telford said. “As long as conservatives in B.C., those populist conservatives, particularly in the Interior or in the north, are animated and mobilized by these social issues, there is no basis for unity.”
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Ms. Findlay’s resignation comes amid heightened speculation that Mr. Eby may soon call a snap election, in part to take advantage of a weakened opposition. Mr. Eby confirmed Wednesday that he had lined up interim chief of staff Cheryl Oates as the NDP’s provincial campaign director and that he had told Elections BC and his caucus to be election-ready.
The speculation prompted UBCM delegates to pass an emergency resolution Thursday urging Mr. Eby to ensure that any provincial election would not interfere with municipal elections scheduled for Oct. 17. Mr. Eby said that he would consider it.
The Premier’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Globe and Mail on Sunday.
Asked by reporters Friday about the prospect of an early election, the Premier said he had no such announcement to make but drew on the turmoil among the Conservatives as he suggested there could be value in putting the province’s direction to voters.
“They want to take us down a road of toxic politics, infighting and culture wars. We want to build up the province,” Mr. Eby said. “And I don’t think it’s ever a bad idea to ask British Columbians, especially at a moment like this, about which direction we should be going in.”
Prof. Telford said he believes Ms. Findlay’s resignation makes it unlikely that Mr. Eby will call a snap election.
“The NDP needed Kerry-Lynne Findlay to lead the Conservative Party,” Prof. Telford said.
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Further, calling an election in the wake of Ms. Findlay’s resignation, and as a third party called CentreBC is just taking shape, would rankle voters, he said.
“It’s not within the normal realm of loosely conventional politics to call a snap election when the Official Opposition doesn’t have a leader.”
Stewart Prest, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia, said Mr. Eby’s political future could be at risk if he called an election while the B.C. Conservatives are decapitated.
“It has to be even more tempting than ever for Mr. Eby to pull the trigger and try to lock in a renewed and expanded majority,” he said. “But I think there’s something unsettling about a government going to the polls when the opposition is in such disarray.”
Aileen Machell, a communications and strategy consultant and Mr. Eby’s former deputy chief of staff, said she did not believe Ms. Findlay’s resignation would factor into calculations around an election call.
“We’ve heard comments from Eby over the last few weeks that were focused on the need for stability during Trump’s trade war, and that challenge is still there,” she said.
“It is an immense challenge that needs to be addressed, regardless of anything happening on the right, or any political machinations.”
On Friday, two centre-right parties joined forces under the CentreBC banner, in anticipation of an impending election call. Led by Peter Milobar, who left the Conservative caucus on Aug. 14, the group consisted of eight MLAs as of Friday, with more expected, Mr. Milobar said.