Elenore Sturko steps down as leader of CentreBC after losing seat in provincial election

Elenore Sturko, the Surrey MLA best known pushing the NDP on drug policy and crossing the floor to the B.C. Conservatives from B.C. United, has stepped down as the leader of CentreBC after an election in which the party looked like it could make inroads but failed to win any seats.

She said in a statement Friday that she is “moving on from partisan politics to pursue new opportunities” after losing er bid to reclaim her riding of Surrey South in last month’s provincial election.

First elected as a B.C. Liberal in Surrey South in 2022, with the party renamed B.C. United in April 2023, Sturko became the third MLA to cross the floor from B.C. United to join the B.C. Conservatives in the lead-up to the 2024 provincial election.

The longtime Surrey RCMP officer quickly became known for being a critic of the NDP’s policies around decriminalization of illicit drugs and their prescription of medications like Dilaudid to give drug users an alternative to toxic street drugs, as public concerns over visible drug use rose.

She successfully got the government to back down on both policies after evidence that Dilaudid and other medications prescribed through the safer supply program were being diverted into the black market, although some advocates said the evidence was anecdotal.

“Whether it was with the B.C. Liberals, or when I was part of the Conservatives, or even sitting as an independent, I think I was successful in helping change policies,” said Sturko.

“Did I achieve the things that I wanted to when I left the RCMP, I think yes, we talk about mental illness in a way we haven’t been before. We changed drug policies. We changed directions on public safety, and so I have a sense of sadness in losing this part of public service. But I also leave with a lot of gratitude and satisfaction for the difference that I was part of making.”

In September 2025, Sturko was removed from the B.C. Conservative caucus by then-leader John Rustad after raising concerns about suspicious membership sign-ups during Rustad’s leadership review.

She sat as an independent until joining other former Conservative colleagues in moving over to CentreBC in September 2026, four days before NDP Premier David Eby called a snap election on Sept. 22.

All seven of her colleagues moved back to the Conservatives just before the election call following a deal between then-CentreBC leader Peter Milobar and the B.C. Conservatives’ new interim leader, Lorne Doerkson, who was asked to fill the position on Sept. 20 after the resignation of controversial leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay.

Sturko stayed on as CentreBC leader and led the party through the election, recruiting some high profile candidates like former B.C. Green leader Andrew Weaver. But ultimately, she said, people didn’t want to risk re-electing the NDP by voting for CentreBC.

She said it will take more time for the party to get the brand recognition it needs to be successful.

“I’ve always been a bit of a troublemaker in a certain way, a good troublemaker, and so I look forward to seeing what kind of good trouble I can get into in the next chapter, and I fully intend to find a way to serve and to go forward in my career that helps make B.C. a better place,” said Sturko.

alazenby@postmedia.com