Elenore Sturko says she is stepping down as leader of CentreBC about a month after she lost her seat in the B.C. legislature.
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Elenore Sturko is stepping down as leader of CentreBC, the party says in a news release, about one month after losing her seat in the British Columbia legislature.
CentreBC says Sturko will be "moving on from partisan politics to pursue new opportunities."
Sturko, a former RCMP officer, was defeated by B.C. Conservative Megan Knight last month.
She was first elected to the Surrey South riding in 2022 as a B.C. Liberal and later joined the Conservatives in 2024, winning in nearby Surrey-Cloverdale that year.
After being ejected from the Conservatives by former party leader John Rustad over what he said was a need for caucus unity, Sturko sat as an Independent before announcing in September that she was joining CentreBC, along with seven other Conservative defectors.
According to the party’s release, all except Sturko returned to the Conservatives just days later after Kerry-Lynne Findlay quit as leader and was replaced by interim leader Lorne Doerkson ahead of the provincial election.
Sturko remained with CentreBC and became its leader, describing the party as socially progressive and fiscally responsible.
In Friday’s news release, Sturko thanked CentreBC members, candidates, volunteers and supporters for their work and said they shared her "vision and worked to build a new political alternative in British Columbia."
She also thanked her family and said, "Serving British Columbians has been an extraordinary privilege and I remain deeply committed to public service," adding that "However, I believe my next chapter is best pursued outside partisan politics."
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