Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned as leader of the BC Conservative Party effective immediately, saying it was the right step for the party and the province.
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Kerry-Lynne Findlay has resigned as leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia effective immediately, following weeks of disruption inside the official Opposition caucus.
Findlay made the announcement Sunday in a statement posted to social media, writing that the decision was not easy but that she believed it was “the right one for our movement and our province.” She also said she had hoped to spend the early months of her leadership travelling across B.C., listening to residents and building a case for a strong, united Conservative movement.
The resignation comes after a leadership tenure lasting fewer than four months, a period the reporting described as marked by infighting, firings, and a series of defections by sitting legislators.
Findlay said she believed too much time and attention had been consumed by internal conflict instead of focusing on challenging the governing New Democratic Party. In her statement, she said the work of holding the government to account should have been the priority for a strong opposition.
Despite stepping down as leader, Findlay said she would remain the Conservative candidate in the Sept. 26 byelection in Abbotsford-Mission. Her stated goal in the reporting was to secure a seat in the legislature.
The leadership change also follows additional signs of instability within the caucus. The resignation came hours after legislator Linda Hepner announced she was leaving the Conservative caucus, citing the party’s direction under Findlay, which the report said increased the number of sitting MLAs who have left since August to 13.
Findlay’s resignation was further shaped by controversy that surfaced during the weeks leading up to the announcement. The report noted a recent revelation that a private investigator had been hired to look into critics of Findlay, along with subsequent calls for her to resign during an overnight caucus meeting.
In another development, the report said Findlay had recently told the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention that she was “not going anywhere,” amid the turmoil that continued to swirl around the Opposition caucus in the days before her resignation.
Findlay said she had “made decisions” she would have handled differently with the benefit of hindsight, adding that she had listened, reflected, and was taking responsibility for decisions that were hers to make.
She also addressed the personal nature of some of the internal conflicts described in the reporting, saying attacks on someone’s character and family and threats directed toward them cross a line that should concern people regardless of political views. She framed disagreement as something that should never devolve into “personal destruction,” and ended by emphasizing the need to keep the opposition’s work focused rather than consumed by internal battles.
For Vancouver and other B.C. voters, the change tightens the political calendar heading into the Abbotsford-Mission byelection on Sept. 26, where Findlay is still running as the Conservative candidate even as she steps down as party leader. The shift also raises practical questions about how the Conservatives will stabilize their caucus, decide leadership going forward, and coordinate their opposition strategy—particularly in the aftermath of the reported departures and internal disputes that have come to define the party’s last several months.
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