Findlay resigns as B.C. Conservative leader after weeks of caucus upheaval
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Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned as the leader of British Columbia’s Conservatives on Sunday, after weeks of upheaval in the official Opposition caucus.
A statement from Findlay posted to social media said it was not an easy decision, but she believed it was “the right one for our movement and our province.”
Findlay said she would remain the Conservative candidate in the Sept. 26 byelection in Abbotsford-Mission as she aims to secure a seat in the legislature.
Her tenure as Conservative leader, which lasted fewer than four months, was marked by infighting, firings, a string of defections by sitting legislators and the recent revelation that a private investigator had been hired to look into her critics.
Findlay’s resignation comes just hours after legislator Linda Hepner announced she was leaving the Conservative caucus, citing the party’s direction under Findlay, bringing to 13 the number of sitting MLAs who have exited since August.
On Thursday, Findlay told the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention that she was “not going anywhere,” after more tumult for her party, roiled by the revelation of the private eye and calls for her to resign at an overnight caucus meeting.
Findlay’s statement on Sunday said she had hoped to spend the first months of her leadership travelling the province, listening to B.C. residents and “making the case for what a strong, united Conservative movement could accomplish.”
Instead, the former federal cabinet minister from the Harper era said too much time and attention had been consumed by “fighting amongst ourselves” when that energy should have been channeled into challenging the governing NDP.
Findlay said she would not allow an internal battle over her leadership to become a distraction from the work people need from a strong opposition.
“I have made decisions I would make differently with the benefit of hindsight,” she said in the statement. “I have listened. I have reflected. And I take responsibility for the decisions that were mine to make.”
Findlay also said attacks on someone’s character and family, “and threats directed toward them,” cross a line that should concern everyone regardless of their politics.
Calling herself a wife, mother and grandmother, she said disagreement should never “become personal destruction.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2026.