Prince George-Valemount MLA quits B.C. Conservatives, third to go in two weeks

Another MLA is leaving the B.C. Conservative caucus as the exodus from the party continues under new Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay.

Prince-George Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird is the latest to go, saying she plans to sit as an Independent.

“This decision was not made lightly,” she said in a written statement. “Political parties play an important role in our democracy, but they are vehicles for our values: they cannot be substitutes for them.”

Bird joins Delta South MLA Ian Paton and Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar as the latest members of the B.C. Conservative caucus to leave to sit as Independents. Milobar and Paton have declared their intention to start a new party.

This now brings the number of sitting Conservative MLAs to 35, down from 44 elected in October of 2024.

Most of those left under former leader John Rustad, but this latest group is leaving dissatisfied with either the party’s hard swing to the right or Findlay’s leadership.

Bird said in her statement she believes British Columbians are “tired of political infighting, name-calling and division.”

Bird and Paton were both reportedly asked to step aside for Findlay to seek a seat in the legislature — Findlay was elected as party leader on May 30, but needs a byelection to run for a seat — but turned her down.

Paton acknowledged this on Monday when he stepped down; Bird did not address it in her statement.

Abbotsford-Mission MLA Reann Gasper has since declared her intention to step down and clear a path for Findlay, though a byelection has yet to be scheduled.

Findlay had acknowledged the possibility of more MLAs leaving the caucus at a press conference in Vancouver earlier in the day on Tuesday.

“But if they’re leaving, that means they do not have a vision for prosperity and hope that we’re presenting for all British Columbians,” Findlay said. “It means somewhere along the way they’ve decided that they know better than us where we should be going.”