Youre Going to Have Changes: In Conversation With BC Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay

VANCOUVER—B.C. Conservative Party Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay says that while the party has existed for decades, she is its first elected leader since it became the Official Opposition and intends to leave her mark.“I’m the first elected leader of this newly formed party. It’s been around forever, but the sort of newer version shall we say? And you’re going to have changes,” Findlay told The Epoch Times in an interview in her office in Vancouver.Since she was elected leader on May 30, there have already been several shake-ups in the party.Last week saw the departure of the party’s high-profile executive director Angelo Isidorou, who said he is leaving on “amicable and mutual terms” to pursue unspecified future plans.Also last week, the party’s managing director, Philip Dippenaar, announced he would be departing. Earlier in July, Don Weisner was let go as the party’s director of research and said he was told the party was “going in a different direction.”Since becoming leader, Findlay has appointed Heather Maahs as interim leader of the Official Opposition, replacing Trevor Halford, and named Sheldon Clare as House leader, replacing A’aliya Warbus. Findlay said personnel changes are to be expected in any leadership transition.“I’ve had so many different leaders federally, and every time a new leader came in, there were changes in personnel and the leadership team,” she said.Findlay said she and her MLAs have been able to build up their legislative staff, but now face the “big job” of filling positions on the party side after several people decided to move on.First elected as a federal MP in 2011, Findlay served in Stephen Harper’s Conservative government with roles such as Minister of National Revenue and Associate Minister of National Defence.She lost her seat in the 2015 election and was again unsuccessful in a 2017 byelection, but returned to Parliament in the 2019 election, serving as Chief Opposition Whip under Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.A trial lawyer by training, she entered the B.C. Conservative leadership race earlier this year and narrowly won on the fourth ballot.She is replacing John Rustad, who oversaw the B.C. Conservatives’ rise from a fringe party to Official Opposition in the October 2024 election, but resigned in December 2025 amid caucus revolt and the departure of several MLAs.A B.C. Conservative Party leadership sign is pictured on election night in Vancouver, on May 30, 2026. The Canadian Press/Ethan CairnsLeaksThe party has experienced several high-profile leaks in recent weeks, including media reports of resignations before they were officially announced, and social media accounts publishing private conversations Findlay has had within the party.Findlay said the leaks are “very concerning,” and appear to be coming from “a few different sources.”“We’re trying to figure that out. I think some we know, and some we don’t, but at the end of the day, this is early going,” she said.“There’s some growing pains getting people in place, staffing up, and this will smooth out.”Findlay said she learned the military term “battle rhythm” while serving as associate minister of national defence and expects the party to soon find its footing and develop its own.“We’re still working to get there, but we will get there, and those battle rhythms will emerge, and we’ll start to feel a lot more comfortable with each other,” she said.UnityFindlay acknowledged that maintaining unity within a party that includes different ideological factions—such as deficit hawks, social conservatives, and libertarians—could be challenging. But she said her experience as a former whip has prepared her for that, adding the party is united on its key policy priorities and on winning the next election.“We don’t have to agree on 100 percent, we need to agree on about 80 percent commonality,” she said.During Rustad’s reign, five MLAs either resigned or were forced out of caucus, while in March, under the interim leadership of Halford, another MLA was removed from caucus after he was charged with assault.Findlay said she is in talks with some of the MLAs who have departed, telling them that she’s open to “anyone who wants to be part of our vision.” She added that she hasn’t been in talks with the MLAs who are facing charges or Amelia Boultbee, who recently joined the NDP caucus.“I’m open to those discussions. I’ve got a couple lined up over the course of the summer, but I don’t know where they will lead, because it’s also not easy for caucus when someone has left,” she said.“Is that person a team-player? Are they going to come back and be comfortable back in the team again? Will the team be comfortable with them? So there’s many layers of discussion around that.”Findlay added that she has been meeting with her caucus members one-on-one to get to know them better and learn which issues are important to them.She said she has also been travelling to different locations across the province and speaking with residents.“It’s important that I’m out and about and people get to know me,” she said.A B.C. provincial flag hangs in front of the legislature building in Victoria on April 14, 2026. The Canadian Press/Chad HipolitoByelectionFindlay was one of the four leadership candidates, out of five, who did not hold a seat in the provincial legislature.She said she’s “very keen” to join the debate on the floor of the legislature, but doesn’t yet know when she’ll have the chance to get there.Conservative MLAs Rosalyn Bird and Lynne Block have publicly said they will not resign their seats to trigger a byelection that would allow Findlay to seek election to the legislature before the next general election. Their confirmation came after a media leak that reported some MLAs have refused to give up their seats for Findlay.The Tory leader said the issue is a “delicate conversation,” and discussions on the issue are ongoing.“You want to run in a riding where it’s not going to distract from everything else you’re doing,“ she said. ”I mean, there’s no safe riding, and you can never take anything for granted. But obviously, some are more Conservative-leaning than others, so that is a consideration too.”Winning ElectionsFindlay said while it’s true that many of her party’s MLAs are relatively new to politics, having taken elected office for the first time since the 2024 election, they have now gained more experience.“I’m optimistic about being able to portray ourselves as a government-in-waiting, and I think a lot of them were already in portfolios well suited to them, which made my job a little easier,” she said.Findlay said being in opposition has its own challenges, since the legislative agenda is set by the government.“It’s often very intense because in opposition, you don’t set the legislative agenda. You’re often on the defence, trying to figure out what’s coming at you next,” she said.She said having “message discipline” within the party is very important, and it comes from a place of clarity.“If you are clear about where you want to go, and why you want to go there, that messaging follows,” she said, adding that consistency is also important.“Consistency is easy to achieve if you really believe in what you’re doing. You have a vision, and you keep expressing it.”The party has focused its platform on doubling food production in the province, enabling more mining, supporting other economic sectors such as forestry, improving health care and education, improving public safety, and having a “free and prosperous B.C.,” including improving living standards.The governing B.C. NDP says it’s focused on cost-of-living issues, building homes, improving health care, increasing the minimum wage, reducing crime, and fighting climate change. The party currently holds a slim majority in the legislature.The next provincial election is scheduled to be held by Oct. 21, 2028.