Two B.C. Politicians Quit Their Party and Start a New One

Two politicians in British Columbia's legislature, Ian Paton and Peter Milobar, say they are starting a new political party. Milobar will serve as interim leader. Both men left the B.C. Conservative caucus earlier in August The Globe and Mail.

Milobar, who represents Kamloops-Centre, left the Conservative group on August 14. Paton, who represents Delta South, left more than a week later. He sat as an Independent, meaning he belonged to no party, before the two announced their joint venture CBC News.

The move comes three months after Kerry-Lynne Findlay won the B.C. Conservative leadership. Paton said in a statement that the party's direction under Findlay no longer matches his beliefs. Milobar, who placed last in the May leadership vote with 10.5 per cent, said many voters are unhappy with the governing New Democrats but do not see a path forward with the Conservatives under Findlay The Globe and Mail.

Paton and Milobar said they want to give a home to people who feel politically homeless in B.C. They plan to register their new party with Elections BC, the agency that runs elections in the province, before the fall legislative session The Globe and Mail.

The B.C. Conservative Party has also lost several top officials in recent weeks. Executive director Angelo Isidorou, president Aisha Estey, and vice-president Sharon White have all left their posts The Globe and Mail.

Findlay does not currently hold a seat in the legislature. She is expected to enter the House through a byelection, a by-election held to fill an empty seat, in Abbotsford-Mission. MLA Reann Gasper resigned that seat to let Findlay run for it The Globe and Mail. Findlay had announced her team of critics in July, with Milobar assigned to the finance portfolio at that time X/KerryLynneFindlay.

A caucus is the private group of elected members from the same party. Paton and Milobar were both part of the Conservative caucus. The B.C. Conservative Party's official X account had welcomed the two, alongside Trevor Halford, as recently as August 2025 X/Conservative_BC. Paton had publicly backed Milobar for the leadership, posting that he had worked with Milobar since 2017 and had seen his steady, practical leadership up close X/IanPatonDelta. Paton had also stepped down from his role as Lower Mainland lieutenant for the party in July, notifying Findlay directly Facebook/IanPatonDelta.

Milobar indicated the new party may not stop at two members. He said he has been hearing from Conservative colleagues that some may still come to the new party and some may not The Globe and Mail.

The broader context here is a Conservative party still dealing with the fallout of a leadership race that seems to have caused internal splits rather than unity. Findlay took over a party that had been gaining momentum by attracting sitting MLAs and building up its role as the Official Opposition, the largest party that is not in government. But losing two caucus members, one of whom ran against her for the leadership, plus the departure of the party's top three officials, points to strain in both how the party operates and what it stands for. Findlay is not yet in the legislature and needs a byelection to get there. Meanwhile, her party will enter the fall session without its finance critic and without one of its Lower Mainland members, while a newly registered competitor tries to position itself as an alternative for voters on the centre-right who feel left out. Whether the new party can gain official status in the legislature, attract more defectors, or mount a real electoral challenge will depend on how quickly Elections BC processes the paperwork and whether Milobar and Paton can draw clear enough policy distinctions from the party they just left.