DAWSON CREEK, B.C. - Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar has announced he is leaving the B.C. Conservative caucus and will sit as an Independent, citing differences with party leader Kerry –Lynne Findlay and the direction the party is heading in.
In a statement released Friday, Milobar said while he respects the outcome of the party’s leadership race, it has become clear that his views no longer align with the party’s current path.
“I completely respect the vote of the membership, and that Kerry-Lynne Findlay has earned the right as leader to shape the party as she sees fit,” Milobar said. “It has, however, become clear to me over the last few months that my values don’t align with this new direction.”
Milobar had been serving as finance critic in Findlay’s shadow cabinet.
He said his focus remains on representing residents of Kamloops Centre and indicated he will provide more details about his future plans in the coming days.
Findlay said Milobar reached out to her to share his decision to sit as an Independent.
“I sincerely thank him for his many years of service to British Columbia and his excellent work as the Conservative Party of BC’s Shadow Minister for Finance,” said Findlay. ”Peter has been a valued member of our team and I wish him nothing but the best in his future advocacy.”
Moderate voice within party
A longtime figure in B.C. politics, Milobar served as mayor of Kamloops before being elected to the legislature in 2017.
During his time in Victoria, he has represented the former B.C. Liberals, later B.C. United, and most recently the B.C. Conservatives following the collapse of B.C. United’s 2024 election campaign.
Milobar was considered one of the more moderate voices within the Conservative Party and ran for the party’s leadership earlier this year.
He finished last in the race and was eliminated after the first ballot. His campaign was also affected by controversy surrounding an Elections B.C. investigation into a false statement issued by B.C. United during the 2024 election campaign.
Milobar and his former campaign manager denied any involvement in the matter.
The resignation has sparked speculation about potential divisions within the B.C. Conservative Party.
‘First of many’ to leave
According to party insiders, Milobar’s departure has come as a surprise to many within the organization and could potentially signal further defections from caucus.
Milobar’s exit reduces the size of the Conservative caucus and represents another significant shift in British Columbia’s evolving political landscape as parties continue to realign following the 2024 provincial election.
Party sources tell CJDC TV News there is growing unrest within the caucus with the direction Findlay is taking the party.
One insider told CJDC TV News that ‘Milobar’s departure could be the first of many MLA’s to leave.’
Last month, former British Columbia premier Christy Clark said voters in the province face a choice between the “worst government in B.C. history” and an opposition headed by an unelectable leader.
“She cannot win an election,” Clark said of Conservative Party of B.C. Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay. “She is too kooky.”
Clark isn’t alone in making a calculation that the ascendancy of conservatives like Findlay — who has promised a government guided by “faith, family, and freedom” — leaves the B.C. political map wide open to a new centre-right force.
Independent MLA Elenore Sturko was elected a BC Liberal, but she jumped to the Conservatives before the last election.
After being elected under that banner, she was thrown out of the caucus last year, and now she is among hundreds of thousands of British Columbians without a political home, she said.
‘Far-right purity tests’
“We don’t want to support the NDP because of their disastrous policies that have really hurt the province over what is now almost a decade of running this province, but can’t and would never support the Conservative Party under the leadership of Kerry Lynne Findlay,” said Sturko, a social liberal but fiscal conservative.
Sturko said Findlay had made it very clear with her first appointments that she favoured “far-right purity tests” over experience.
Findlay recently had a dinner meeting with OneBC Leader Dallas Brodie. In a social media post, Findlay said the pair had an “honest conversation” about the challenges facing British Columbia and found “common ground” on issues affecting the province.
Findlay described the meeting as encouraging and said he looks forward to continuing discussions with Brodie in the future.
The meeting comes months after Brodie’s departure from the BC Conservative caucus.
Brodie became a controversial figure after comments related to residential school survivors sparked widespread criticism and a rift within the party.
She was removed from the BC Conservatives by leader John Rustad party.
With files from The Canadian Press.