BC Conservative MLA Resigns, Clearing Way for New Leader Findlay to Seek Seat

Abbotsford-Mission Conservative candidate Reann Gasper attends a news conference in Vancouver on Oct. 11, 2024. The Canadian Press/Ethan CairnsB.C. Conservative MLA Reann Gasper, who represents Abbotsford-Mission, announced Aug. 22 that she will step down, creating an opportunity for party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay to seek the seat in a forthcoming byelection.Gasper said the decision was made out of consideration of the larger goal of defeating the NDP, according to an Aug. 22 joint statement from Gasper and Findlay. Gasper said she would remain involved in the party and continue to work closely with Findlay and the Conservative caucus.In a post to X on the same day, Gasper said the decision to step down was hers and nobody had asked her to do it.“I believe in Kerry-Lynne. I believe in her leadership, her experience and her ability to represent this community. I support her, and I will do everything I can to help her win this seat,” she wrote.In her response to that post, Findlay called Gasper “an outstanding MLA, Shadow Minister and Deputy Whip” and said she was grateful the two would continue working together.With the announcement of Gasper’s resignation, B.C. Premier David Eby will need to call a byelection within six months.Gasper was elected in the B.C. provincial general election on Oct. 19, 2024. During her tenure, she served as official opposition critic for children and family development and also a member of the Select Standing committee on Children and Youth, focusing on policy and oversight surrounding child welfare and specialized support services for families.In addition, she held the leadership role of Deputy Caucus Whip for the Conservative Party of B.C. Her platform and advocacy focused on local infrastructure, wildfire management and local response capabilities, fiscal responsibility, support of local business, and homelessness and social needs in the Fraser Valley.Gasper was the first black woman elected to the B.C. legislature since Rosemary Brown was elected in 1972 and then re-elected three times, serving until 1986.Findlay is a former Conservative federal cabinet minister who represented B.C. ridings in the House of Commons for three terms. She served as revenue minister under former prime minister Stephen Harper from 2013 to 2015, and in 2022 became the first woman to serve as the chief Opposition whip. She lost her South Surrey-White Rock seat in the April 2025 federal election and a year later won the B.C. Conservative leadership in May this year.