Phone calls fly as B.C. Conservatives try to plot a path through the chaos

Bruce Banman, MLA for Abbotsford South, became the latest MLA to leave the Conservative caucus late Thursday. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

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Phone calls are flying among B.C. Conservative MLAs and staffers, current and former, as the party struggles to find a path forward after a flood of MLA resignations and leaks of internal conversations.

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Six MLAs have left the party in less than two weeks, with Bruce Banman of Abbotsford South becoming the latest defection on Thursday. And several sources say it is expected that more could leave before the Conservative caucus meeting on Monday at 9 a.m. in Richmond.

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“Person after person has informed me they have decided that our new leader is unelectable,” said Banman in a statement.

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Others want to hear what Findlay has to say before deciding whether to stay or go.

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Accounts of phone conversations provided to Postmedia paint a picture of chaos, with some MLAs fielding hours of calls while on vacation or learning about the latest development from social media posts.

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Many seem shell shocked at the pace of resignations and wonder if they, too, should make the move. The Conservative caucus is now don to 31 MLAs, from 44 after the last election.

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For those not a fan of Findlay’s leadership, vent sessions hear complaints about people the Conservative leader has brought in, including chief of staff Chris Delaney and the recently fired operations director Apollo Chung, and Findlay’s treatment of MLAs and staff.

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Chung was fired Wednesday, with no reason given for his dismissal.

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Many, however, are hesitant to pull the plug, according to sources, and still think there is a chance they can make positive changes from inside the party.

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“You’ve got three choices. Go now, go later, or go down with the ship,” one former staffer said on background of the choice facing MLAs. “That’s your choices, but she can’t win an election.”

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For some of those who still support Findlay, the resignations are a good thing because many of the MLAs who are leaving are viewed as former B.C. Liberals and not true conservatives.

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Kristina Loewen, Conservative MLA for Kelowna Centre, said her message to colleagues about staying or leaving is that nothing has changed since the 2024 election.

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“Our policies and platform are still the same, and we’re still setting out to do the same thing. So people need to look directly into their own conscience and decide for themselves, and then either get on board or not,” she said.

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“We welcome everyone and we look forward to defeating the NDP. And I think the other thing is we’re the only party that is positioned to defeat the NDP when an election is called sometime in the next two years.”

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Already, however, business leaders and a mix of federal Liberal and federal Conservative strategists are having conversations about a Findlay-less future.

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B.C. Conservative leader Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay leads a press conference at The Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront in Vancouver, August 25, 2026. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

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On Wednesday afternoon, 60 people met in the basement of a White Spot in downtown Vancouver and discussed options for how to bring B.C.’s centre-right back to a place where it can defeat the NDP.