BURST
The Conservatives celebrated a stunning breakthrough in the 2024 election, coming within three seats of forming government.
Less than two years later, they have lost one-third of the MLAs elected under their banner.
Fourteen of the original 44 are no longer Conservative MLAs — some were expelled, others quit over leadership, and one resigned her seat to clear the way for new leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay to get a seat in the legislature.
Here’s a look at the 14 MLAs who have left the party:
Conservatives who left under John Rustad
Dallas Brodie (Vancouver-Quilchena)
Brodie was elected as a Conservative in 2024 but was expelled from the caucus in March 2025 by then leader John Rustad over comments she made on a podcast about residential-school survivors. Rustad said Brodie had mocked and belittled testimony from former students.
Brodie subsequently formed the OneBC party in June. She also survived a failed recall attempt .
Tara Armstrong (Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream)
Armstrong was elected as a Conservative in 2024 but left the party in solidarity with Brodie and joined the newly formed OneBC party. She later left the party and now sits as an Independent.
Jordan Kealy (Peace River North)
Like Armstrong, Kealy left the Conservatives in solidarity with Brodie. He did not join OneBC and has sat as an Independent.
Earlier this June, Kealy was charged with one count of sexual assault in Fort St. John. He has denied the allegations.
Elenore Sturko (Surrey-Cloverdale)
Sturko, who served as the party’s opposition critic, was booted from the Conservative caucus in September 2025, hours after Rustad survived a leadership review.
Rustad accused Sturko of plotting against him. Sturko denied the accusation but acknowledged having conversations with colleagues about concerns over Rustad’s leadership.
Rustad said Sturko was an effective critic but they had irreconcilable differences over the party’s direction.
Amelia Boultbee (Penticton-Summerland)
Boultbee left the Conservatives in October 2025 in solidarity with Sturko amid concerns about Rustad’s leadership.
At the time, she expressed concerns that the Conservatives were becoming a smaller-tent party.
She initially sat as an Independent before crossing the floor this summer to join the NDP.
Conservatives who left under Trevor Halford
Hon Chan (Richmond Centre)
Chan was expelled from the Conservative caucus in March 2026 by interim leader Trevor Halford following domestic assault allegations.
Chan is facing assault charges stemming from an incident in January 2024, about eight months before the 2024 provincial election when Chan was elected to his first term as MLA. He has denied the allegations.
Conservatives who left under Kerry-Lynne Findlay
Peter Milobar (Kamloops Centre)
The B.C. Conservatives’ finance critic was the first MLA to leave the party under new leader Findlay, triggering a cascade of departures from the caucus.
Milobar disagreed with the party’s push to the right under Findlay, saying “my values don’t align with this new direction.” He left caucus Aug. 14 and later announced plans to form a new centre-right party with fellow defector Ian Paton.
Ian Paton (Delta South)
Like Milobar, Paton is a former B.C. Liberal and United MLA and served as the Conservatives’ agriculture critic.
He left the caucus 10 days after Milobar, citing concerns about Findlay’s leadership, the purging of party staff and the posting of an AI-generated video depicting Premier David Eby as a military dictator.
Reann Gasper (Abbotsford-Mission)
Gasper resigned her seat on Aug. 22 to clear the way for Findlay to run in a byelection and get into the legislature. Gasper said the decision was her own and that she believed in Findlay’s leadership.
Gasper was first elected as MLA of Abbotsford-Mission in 2024. She served as the Conservatives’ deputy whip and critic for the Ministry of Children and Family Development. After resigning her seat, she was hired as Findlay’s deputy chief of staff.
Today I’m sharing a decision I have made about my future as MLA for Abbotsford-Mission.
— Reann Gasper (@ReannGasper) August 22, 2026
I have decided to step down and give @KerryLynneFindl the opportunity to seek the nomination and run here in a by-election.
This is my decision. No one asked me to make it.
Representing… pic.twitter.com/xpXobPyCjp
Rosalyn Bird (Prince George-Valemount)
Bird left the party Aug. 25, citing infighting and what she described as a change in the party’s values. She told the new leader in her resignation letter that she did not believe the general population wanted a far right party any more than they wanted a far left party.
Teresa Wat (Richmond-Bridgeport)
Wat resigned Aug. 26 over comments Findlay made in a private leadership-campaign chat group, where she insinuated that Wat was affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party.
Wat described the comments as “distasteful” and said Findlay had failed to apologize for the allegations.
Findlay disputed Wat’s account, saying she had apologized to Wat privately and was prepared to issue a public apology but was pre-empted by Wat’s resignation.
Wat, who was a former B.C. Liberal and B.C. United MLA, defected to the Conservatives in 2024 under Rustad. She now sits as an Independent.
Brennan Day (Courtenay-Comox)
Day resigned Aug. 27 over leadership concerns. He said he does not believe Findlay has the integrity required to lead the party. “I find her brand of Tea Party conservatism deeply distasteful, and I will no longer support that path for the Conservative Party, which is deeply unfortunate.”
Bruce Banman (Abbotsford South)
Banman also resigned on Aug. 27 over concerns about Findlay’s leadership and electability. In a statement, Banman said the party’s political tent has been shrinking since Findlay took over as leader. “The goal in politics is to make the tent bigger.”
Please see my statement below: pic.twitter.com/h3SxnwCKTK
— Bruce Banman (@BruceBanman) August 27, 2026
Á’a:líya Warbus (Chilliwack-Cultus Lake)
Warbus, who served as opposition house leader under both Rustad and Halford, announced her resignation from the Conservative caucus on Aug. 31.
She cited “a critical breakdown in communication” with MLAs and staff over hirings, firings, appointments and leadership positions. She also pointed to the cancellation of a caucus meeting that had been scheduled for Monday, which was pushed until after the Sept. 26 Abbotsford-Mission byelection, as the last straw.
Please see my statement below. pic.twitter.com/p97hor7SG4
— Á'a:líya Warbus (@a_warbus) August 31, 2026
With files from Alec Lazenby and Postmedia