Eight former B.C. Conservative legislators have joined CentreBC, with Peter Milobar assuming leadership after earlier moves toward a new party.
The Story
A group of eight former B.C. Conservative legislators says it is joining CentreBC, a political shift that also brings a change in leadership as Peter Milobar takes over as leader of the party.
The announcement identifies Milobar as the incoming leader of CentreBC, positioning the group’s expanded ranks as a major development within B.C.’s political landscape.
CentreBC’s statement and the accompanying details describe the move as expanding the party to become the third largest in the provincial legislature.
The joining comes after Milobar and six other recent Opposition Conservative defectors had said previously they would form their own party, but they are now instead being joined to CentreBC.
The change also reflects earlier internal fallout within the Conservative caucus, where Milobar’s resignation from the Opposition Conservative caucus in August is described as a trigger for an exodus.
Mike Bernier is stepping aside as leader of CentreBC, with the leadership transition framed as part of making way for Milobar following the Conservative-caucus departure.
Alongside the planned and announced leadership shift, CentreBC also says it will be joined by Eleanor Sturko, whose departure from the Conservative caucus is described as having occurred after she was ejected from the caucus last year.
The combination of the eight former legislators joining CentreBC, Milobar’s leadership move, and the inclusion of Sturko and other defectors signals a consolidation of recent Conservative opposition departures into a single party rather than a separate new formation, according to the information provided.
The practical impact for voters and readers in B.C. centres on the party’s projected rise in size, described here as CentreBC becoming the third largest party in the provincial legislature, and the immediate leadership change that accompanies that growth.
← More stories