A byelection has been called in British Columbia after a B.C. Conservative MLA resigned last week, giving leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay a chance to sit in the legislature.
But in many ways, the timing could not be worse for Findlay, whose caucus has lost six MLAs in recent weeks.
An audio recording appeared on social media Thursday of a person who sounds like Findlay saying she thought if someone stepped aside as a legislator, “I could give them a role as senior adviser in their same portfolio.”
The MLA who resigned, Reann Gasper, has since become Findlay’s deputy chief of staff.
Findlay has addressed the recording and said suggestions it shows her illegally offering jobs to legislators in exchange for resigning so she could stand in a byelection are “preposterous.”
The B.C. Conservative leader currently does not hold a seat in the legislature. The byelection is set for Sept. 26.
Trevor Bolin, the party’s former leader, said the timing of the audio’s release “couldn’t be worse” because of various issues facing the Conservatives.
“I think, you know, Kerri-Lynne needs to get a handle on not only her leadership with the caucus, but as well as the MLAs and the members in British Columbia,” Bolin told Global News.
Findlay said on social media Thursday that it appeared the “unverified” audio recording was made at a July caucus meeting, calling it a “political smear job.”
It is illegal under the Criminal Code to negotiate a reward or benefit related to resignation from political office, but Findlay said the comments in the recording, published by an anonymous account known as “The Findlay Files,” were “normal political discussions” that did not constitute a criminal offence.
In addition to the Criminal Code bribery prohibition, which is subject to up to five years’ prison, BC legislature standing orders ban the offer of money or other advantages to members for promoting any matter “depending or to be transacted” in the house.
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The B.C. RCMP said it was aware of the social media post.
“However, generally speaking, the RCMP does not confirm or deny any investigation, or the identity of any person who may be subject to an investigation, until such time as charges have been laid,” a spokesperson said in an email Friday.
It’s not only the audio hanging over Findlay going into a byelection. Six MLAs have left the party in the past month, four of them in the past week.
The exodus began Aug. 14, when longtime MLA Peter Milobar announced he would leave the party to sit as an independent.
About 10 days later, Ian Paton left the BC Conservatives and signalled he and Milobar planned to form a new party before the fall legislative session.
Since Aug. 24, four others have left: Rosalyn Bird, Teresa Wat, Brennan Day and Bruce Banman.
Bolin also said he’s hearing six to eight more Conservative MLAs could leave before the fall sitting.
“There’s obviously an issue in the party, there’s an issue in caucus, there’s an issue with the executive,” he said. “Don’t hide from it, don’t deny it, take it head on and fix this issue because the last thing we need is more centre-to-right parties popping up just to split that vote.”
He added he believes the party can recover ahead of a potential general election, which has to be held no later than October 2028, but encouraged Findlay to change the closed-door meetings policy, improve transparency and work with communities and her MLAs.
“Parties last forever, leaders come and go, MLAs come and go, politicians have expiry dates, but at the end of the day, the platforms and the policies that the members put in place are what lasts a lifetime,” he said.
If Findlay chooses to run in the riding, she would face former NDP MLA and agriculture and food minister Pam Alexis. Alexis was elected in the 2020 election before losing to Gasper in 2024 by about 2,600 votes.
OneBC Leader Dallas Brodie said in a post on X on Saturday that her party does not intend to run a candidate despite support she said they have in the Fraser Valley.
“I do not believe it would be ethical to run in a race to try and block a major party leader from getting into the legislature to lead her caucus,” she wrote.
Brodie called on CentreBC and the likely party led by Milobar and Paton to not run candidates, either under their banners or as independents.
Findlay thanked Brodie for her stance and said it would send a message to the B.C. NDP. She did not confirm in the post if she will be running.
Milobar, along with fellow defector Ian Paton, have said they plan to start a new party after leaving Findlay’s caucus. In an interview Saturday, Milobar said they are still working with Elections BC on the process to become official.
He said both he and Paton want their party to be credible and that people “will want to see more meat on the bone of the party that we’re setting up.”
“If it was three months down the road, I’m fully confident we’d be well equipped to put a good effort in and have a credible candidate and be a force, but we’re not in that situation,” he said.
“We’re five days post announcement (of plans for the new party) and the byelection has been called.”
—with files from Global News’ Amy Judd and The Canadian Press
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