What's Going On With the B.C. Conservative Party? A Wave of MLA Departures

Teresa Wat has quit the B.C. Conservative Party and will now sit as an Independent MLA — a legislator who belongs to no party. She is the third member to leave the party's caucus in three days (The Globe and Mail).

Wat represents Richmond-Bridgeport. She said she could no longer serve under leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay. The conflict centres on what Wat called "serious and unfounded accusations" that questioned her loyalty to Canada. According to Wat, Findlay called her "CCP," meaning the Chinese Communist Party, in remarks that were widely reported.

Wat said Findlay told her during the week of August 25 that she would apologize. No apology came before Wat announced her resignation on August 26 (The Globe and Mail).

The departures from the B.C. Conservative caucus have come quickly. Peter Milobar left earlier in August. Ian Paton left on August 25. Rosalyn Bird followed on August 26. Wat's resignation came the same day as Bird's. That brings the total to four MLAs leaving in a single month (The Globe and Mail).

The party has also lost its executive director, the top staff person running the B.C. Conservatives' day-to-day operations. That person left in late July (National Observer). The loss came during a broader round of staff and caucus shakeups. On July 30, Findlay had publicly backed Wat, posting statements of support on Facebook and X (BIV). That support gave way, within weeks, to the conflict that drove Wat out.

Wat's political history adds context. She was previously a member of BC United (formerly the B.C. Liberals) before joining the Conservatives in July 2024. When she switched parties, BC United suggested Wat had taken sensitive voter information with her. Wat called the allegation disappointing (National Observer). That dispute now sits alongside her conflict with Findlay, meaning Wat has fallen out with two party leaders in just over two years.

Findlay has stayed defiant through the departures, even as Bird left the caucus (Vancouver Sun). Some political analysts say the B.C. Conservatives are at risk of collapse as MLAs exit and staff are dismissed (Vancouver Sun).

The broader picture here is striking no matter how you view each person's reasons. Four MLAs gone in one month. A key staff leader departed. And a leader who publicly supported one of those MLAs just weeks before that same MLA left, citing the leader's own words as the reason. The "CCP" comment directed at Wat, a Chinese-Canadian legislator, and the missing apology carry added weight in a province where Chinese-Canadian voters are a large and important group.

In British Columbia's legislature, the second-largest party is called the official Opposition. Its job is to hold the government to account. The B.C. Conservatives hold that role right now. Every departure shrinks their caucus and weakens their position before the next legislative session. Losing the executive director compounds the problem, because that person turned the party's election gains into a functioning operation.

Wat now sits as an Independent, alongside other former Conservatives and former BC United members who have chosen to operate outside any party in the B.C. legislature. Whether the departing MLAs join together on a shared project, or each sits alone, will affect the balance of power when members return to work.

Findlay's defiance, for now, points to no change in direction. Whether she can maintain that stance as more people leave is the question the party's remaining members and staff will need to answer.