The B.C. Conservatives have now had four MLAs resign from caucus in three days as representatives voice anger at new party leader
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Two more B.C. Conservative MLAs resigned from caucus Wednesday, making five legislators who have now left the party over disagreements with their new leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay.
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Hamish Telford, a University of the Fraser Valley political scientist, said he’s never seen a political party collapse as quickly as the B.C. Conservatives.
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At the same time, he believes Findlay’s job is safe for now because of the diehard supporters who voted for her in the leadership race that will stick with her even as others leave.
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“The closest comparison I can come up with was when Stockwell Day took over the Canadian Alliance back in the ’90s. But at least he got to lead the party through an election campaign before the knives came out,” said Telford.
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“This shows, I think, a serious miscalculation on the part of Ms. Findlay of how to lead this party; that she felt that she had a mandate to impose ideology and viewpoint on the party when … she won by the slimmest of margins.”
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The departures of Teresa Wat of Richmond-Bridgeport and Brennan Day of Courtenay-Comox on Wednesday follow the exits of Delta South MLA Ian Paton and Prince George-Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird earlier this week and Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar earlier in August.
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Findlay also announced Wednesday that she has fired her operations director Apollo Chung, former executive director of the Alberta Republican Party, for reasons that remain unclear.
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In a statement posted on social media on Wednesday, Wat said she resigned from the caucus because of Findlay’s comments in a private leadership campaign group chat on May 6, during the leadership race, in which she insinuated Wat is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party and that “the Chinese community that supports us knows this.”
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Findlay’s message was leaked and posted online by the anonymous FindlayFiles account in July and Wat says, despite the promise of a public apology, Findlay never expressed her regret for the comments even in a private conversation.
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“On July 29, it was reported in the media that during the B.C. Conservative leadership campaign, Ms. Findlay was alleged to have made serious and unfounded accusations about me, including remarks that called my allegiance to Canada into question. These remarks were distasteful, hurtful and made me question my place in the B.C. Conservatives under her leadership,” said Wat.
