7 CentreBC MLAs Rejoin BC Conservatives, While MLA Chapman Leaves Tories to Join OneBC

MLA Peter Milobar and six other members of the breakaway CentreBC party are rejoining the BC Conservatives as the governing NDP on Sept. 22 called a snap election.

Meanwhile, Surrey South MLA Brent Chapman, husband of former BC Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, is leaving the Tories to join the OneBC Party, which was formed in 2025 after a split with the BC Conservatives.

MLAs Returning to BC Conservatives

Milobar, who had run in the BC Conservative leadership race that was won by Findlay on May 30, left the party in August over disagreements with Findlay. As more MLAs left the party, some joined forces with Milobar to form a new party. They eventually merged with CentreBC, which was led by former BC Liberal cabinet minister Mike Bernier, with Milobar taking over as leader.

Eleanor Sturko is the only CentreBC legislator who is not rejoining the BC Conservatives. Unlike the other former CentreBC MLAs who left the Tories during Findlay’s tenure as leader, Sturko was ousted from the BC Conservative caucus when John Rustad was leader. She said her decision not to rejoin the party is due to her values not aligning with those of the BC Conservatives, adding that CentreBC has a “vision and philosophy I can support.” Later on Sept. 22, she was appointed as CentreBC leader.

Earlier this week, the BC Conservatives welcomed back Rustad, former BC Conservative interim leader Trevor Halford, and MLA Claire Rattée, who had been ousted from the party by Findlay, while MLAs Linda Hepner and Scott McInnis also rejoined the party after resigning from caucus.

Findlay has been replaced by BC Conservative MLA Lorne Doerkson as interim leader. Doerkson was the third MLA to join the resurgent BC Conservative Party in 2024, crossing over from BC United. His decision came amid the collapse of talks between BC United and the BC Conservatives to join forces.

The Oct. 24 election was called by NDP Leader David Eby, who met with B.C. Lt.-Gov. Wendy Cocchia at Government House in Victoria on Sept. 22 and asked her to dissolve the legislature.

Eby said he is calling the election to ask for a new mandate amid U.S. tensions, referencing U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies toward Canada.

“The conditions in our country have changed, and they’re changing quickly by the hour,” Eby said at a press conference after calling the election.

The BC Conservatives, who don’t have a permanent leader, say that the “cynical election is not what British Columbians asked for, but it offers our province the hope for real change.”

“That is why our team has come together, strong and unified, to bring overdue change and build British Columbia back up into the province that you deserve,” the party said in a statement.

In the aftermath of Milobar leaving CentreBC, the party issued a statement titled “Milobar Flips—Again” to condemn the move.

“We are disappointed that Peter Milobar and others did not stand by commitments made to this party, its Executive Council, and its members,” CentreBC President Mike Wignall said in a statement.

Chapman’s Departure

Chapman said in a Sept. 22 statement posted on social media that he needed to “hold true” to the conservative principles that brought him to the party in 2011, which he said meant quitting the B.C. Conservatives and joining OneBC.

He said he was optimistic when he ran for office in 2024 and believed the Conservative name and its principles and values provided the party with “a clear sense of purpose and direction.”

However, Chapman said he came to believe there were differences within the party over how those principles were understood and the platform on which it campaigned in the 2024 provincial election.

“The disagreements within caucus, and increasingly in public, made that difficult to ignore,” Chapman wrote. He said the past few months had been “deeply personal” for him, adding that he watched his wife, Findlay, “endure attacks from people she once stood beside.”

Chapman also said there are good people in the BC Conservative Party whom he still calls friends, and said he was grateful for the support the caucus gave him during his cancer treatments last year.

Dallas Brodie, the MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena and leader of OneBC, welcomed Chapman to the party in an online post on Sept. 22.

“We are honoured to have you. OneBC is growing, our membership is surging. British Columbians want a party that acts with clarity and integrity,” she said.