Three B.C. Independents join Ian Paton and Peter Milobar in new centre-right party

Peter Milobar, left, at the legislature in Victoria in May. Photo by Chad Hipolito /POSTMEDIA

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Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar and Delta South MLA Ian Paton have vaulted their yet to be named party to third place in the legislature standings, with three of the other recent defectors from the B.C. Conservatives joining their ranks.

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On Friday, the pair announced that Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman, Prince George Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird and Chilliwack-Cultus Lake MLA Áʼa:líya Warbus have all joined the party and that the five will sit together when the fall session starts October 5.

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“We’re working hard, every day, to build the party British Columbia needs right now,” said Milobar in a statement.

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“The support we’ve seen from across the province has been overwhelming, and people are stepping up to help us bring this party to life in a very short time. The appetite for it is undeniable. This will be a party for hard-working British Columbians: one that restores fiscal sanity to this province and positions British Columbia as a national leader in resource development and job creation.”

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Milobar will serve as interim party leader for now, until the party can set about holding a vote in October on who should take over permanently.

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Milobar, Paton, Warbus, Bird and Banman all left the B.C. Conservative caucus in August over concerns about the leadership of Kerry-Lynne Findlay.

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In a statement Thursday evening, Findlay indicated she has no plan to step aside despite the recent wave of MLA departures and the resignation or firing of her chief of staff, operations director and the party executive director.

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“I was elected to lead this party, and I intend to lead it with determination, with humility and with the experience to know that strong leaders listen, learn and make changes when changes are needed,” she said.

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The Conservatives are scheduled to hold an optional caucus meeting in Abbotsford today as Findlay gears up for the byelection in Abbotsford-Mission.

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There is no word on whether the other MLAs who have left the Conservatives in recent weeks, including Courtenay-Comox MLA Brennan Day, Richmond-Bridgeport MLA Teresa Wat, Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson and Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Scott McInnis, will also sign on to the new effort by Milobar and Paton.

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Elenore Sturko, Independent MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale, has said she is considering joining Milobar and Paton but was not among the list of MLAs who joined on Friday.

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