Skeena MLA Claire Rattée said in a statement that Findlay does not have the authority to do this as she is not an elected representative.
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B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry Lynne-Findlay has removed former party leader John Rustad, former interim leader Trevor Halford and Skeena MLA Claire Rattée from caucus, after internal party calls this week for Findlay to resign as leader.
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The Office of the Clerk of the legislature confirmed Friday that it had been instructed to remove the three from the list of Conservative MLAs by the B.C. Conservative caucus.
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In a statement, Findlay said “there’s no room for internal power struggles or vanity projects” and that only those committed to building the Conservative movement are welcome.
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“With an election potentially on the horizon, our focus must be on British Columbians and defeating David Eby’s NDP government,” said Findlay.
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“The B.C. Conservative Party is the only free-enterprise team equipped with a fully funded campaign to take on the NDP, and we need everyone focused on building our movement and preparing to win.”
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Rattée, Conservative MLA for Skeena, said in a post on social media that Findlay does not have the authority to boot MLAs from caucus as she is not an elected representative, and therefore not the caucus leader.
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“That she is attempting to remove B.C. Conservative incumbent MLAs on the eve of a potential snap election is yet another example of her demonstrating poor judgment that doesn’t befit someone who is attempting to become premier,” said Rattée.
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“She needs to grow our voter coalition to win an election, and instead she is driving key members of our team into situations that will undoubtedly split votes and give more seats to the NDP.”
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She also confirmed that she is one of 10 MLAs who asked Findlay to step aside, despite the Conservative leader’s comment during her UBCM speech that “I’m not going anywhere.”
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The Skeena MLA was one of two MLAs, alongside Rustad, who sources say asked Findlay to resign during a tense caucus meeting on Wednesday evening.
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At that meeting, it was disclosed that Rattée and at least 12 other people, including five other MLAs, had been under surveillance by a private investigator allegedly hired by former party executive director Elaine Allan.
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The removal of Rustad and Halford, who won widespread kudos for his work as interim Opposition leader, brings the number of Conservative MLAs to 25, down from 38 when Findlay became leader three months ago and 44 at the time of the last provincial election in 2024.
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Neither Rustad or Halford have responded to requests for comment by Postmedia.
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Rustad was the leader who took the party to within 22 votes of winning the 2024 provincial election.
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Halford took over as interim leader after Rustad resigned in Dec. 2025 and was well-regarded by much of caucus for bringing stability to the Conservatives during the leadership race that elected Findlay.
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