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The B.C. Conservatives have lost one of their leading moderate voices, with Peter Milobar citing a lack of “ideological alignment” with leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay for his decision to sit as an Independent.
He announced his exit from the opposition Conservatives on social media on Friday, eight months after launching an ill-fated run for the party’s leadership.
Milobar said in an interview that he had concerns about the party’s direction under Findlay, who has pushed the party right and has said it will focus on “faith, freedom and family.”
“It’s just a cumulative effect,” said Milobar, who added that he had been contemplating his future during a recent vacation.
“It’s ideological alignment in terms of the strength of beliefs in some areas versus others,” he added. “So, it really was just that overall view of where things are headed or headed to.”
He declined to identify specific areas of policy difference that he had noted over the past couple months, but said Findlay’s recent personnel changes also played a part in his exit.
Milobar said he had been purposely staying out of the fray about the party’s direction, because it was ultimately a leader’s prerogative. He said he shared his decision with Findlay Friday morning by phone, but declined to give details.
“It was cordial of a conversation as you could possibly have given the circumstances,” he said. “It was as long as we needed it to be.”
Findlay was not available for an interview about Milobar’s departure, but responded on the party’s website.
“I sincerely thank him for his many years of service to British Columbia and his excellent work as the Conservative Party of B.C.’s shadow minister for finance,” she wrote. “Peter has been a valued member of our team and I wish him nothing but the best in his future advocacy.”
Milobar, who was first elected as a B.C. Liberal in 2017 after five consecutive terms as mayor of Kamloops, said he would continue to serve residents in his riding of Kamloops Centre, but as an Independent, effective immediately.
Premier David Eby said Milobar’s departure sent a message.
“If even Peter Milobar can’t vote with the Conservatives, then British Columbians shouldn’t vote for them,” Eby said Friday in Vancouver as he announced a small cabinet shuffle.
Six weeks ago, MLA Amelia Boultbee also quit the Conservatives, and joined the B.C. NDP.
But Eby said he didn’t expect a phone call from Milobar.
“I don’t believe that our perspectives align,” Eby said. “With that said, you know, anything is possible.”
Milobar, who has been a harsh critic of the NDP’s handling of provincial finances and is among the most experienced MLAs in the legislature, ruled out joining the government.
“I want to be clear on this point,” he said. “The NDP are a disaster as a government, and they still need to be defeated in the next election, full stop.”
He said “nothing I’m doing or saying today is meant to undermine the NDP being defeated in the next general election.”
Findlay is a former Conservative MP who has so far been unable to find a colleague to step aside to allow her to seek a place in the legislature.
The ideological direction of the Conservatives shifted after her narrow victory on the fourth ballot of the party’s leadership race in May. Milobar was eliminated from the field early, before Findlay defeated Caroline Elliott with 51 per cent of the votes to Elliott’s 49 per cent.
But Findlay’s efforts and the narrowness of the win have failed to quell questions about the party’s identity, that have persisted since it absorbed numerous sitting MLAs from the former BC United party ahead of the 2024 election.
Her husband Brent Chapman is among a cohort of MLAs who went on to be elected, when the party under John Rustad won 44 seats and came to the brink of power.
The party has since suffered a series of defections amid the questions about its identity, with some splitting from its right flank, and others from its left.
Milobar clashed with Findlay during a leadership debate, when she accused him of having a conflict of interest because Milobar’s Indigenous wife once held paid positions with the local Indigenous band.
Independent MLA Elenore Sturko previously served with Milobar under the B.C. Liberal, BC United and B.C. Conservative banners. She said he made a good decision on Friday.
“With the folks (Findlay) has surrounded herself, how she is setting the tone and direction of the party, it’s not a surprise that it’s no longer aligned with some of the MLAs’ values,” she said.
Others cheered Milobar’s exit.
Dallas Brodie quit the Conservatives to form her own OneBC party last year, and posted a photo having dinner with Findlay last week.
“Peter Milobar who organized to get me tossed out of the BC Conservatives is now tossing himself out because the party refused to let him turn it into a Liberal party,” she said Friday on social media.
OneBC is not the only nascent party to emerge in the wake of the 2024 election.
CentreBC has been branding itself as a “socially progressive, fiscally responsible choice,” capable of building a “broad coalition of builders and doers” and its leader, former B.C. Liberal minister Mike Bernier, cheered Milobar’s decision.
“Good for Peter, for having the courage to do the right thing And I think there’s many more MLAs in that room that feel the same way he does,” Bernier said on social media, adding there was “no future now for the BC Conservatives.
Milobar said he had had no conversations with CentreBC.
“That was not the intention of what I have done today,” he said. “Today was about giving myself space to continue pursuing constituency files and MLA work in Kamloops Centre throughout the rest of the summer and into the fall and not rush any next steps on any next front.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2026.
Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
