Findlay resigns as B.C. Conservative Party leader, will remain candidate in Abbotsford-Mission

ABBOTSFORD-MISSION – Kerry-Lynne Findlay has stepped down as leader of the B.C. Conservative Party effective immediately but will remain a candidate in the upcoming by-election in Abbotsford-Mission.

In an email sent to party supporters and posted to social media, Findlay said she ran for leader earlier this year because she believed deeply in the province and its potential.

“When I accepted the responsibility of leading the Conservative Party of British Columbia, I did so knowing the work ahead would not be easy,” Findlay wrote. “I ran because I believe deeply in this province and in the people who call it home. British Columbians deserve safer communities, affordable living, strong resource industries that create good jobs, lower taxes, better health care, property rights certainty, schools that prepare our children for success, and a government that remembers who it works for.”

She said the public deserved an opposition that held the NDP accountable, but that campaign became sidetracked by what she called “internal conflict.”

“I had hoped to spend these first months travelling our province, listening to British Columbians, earning their trust, and making the case for what a strong, united Conservative movement could accomplish,” Findlay wrote. “Instead, from the outset, too much of our time and attention has been consumed by internal conflict. Energy that should have been directed toward challenging the NDP, advancing our principles, and preparing to form government has instead been spent fighting amongst ourselves. And I want to be very clear: The battle for Conservatives should not be with other Conservatives. It must be with the NDP. Our province faces serious challenges. Families are struggling with the cost of living. Housing remains out of reach for too many. British Columbians are worried about health care, public safety, our economy, and the future we are leaving to our children and grandchildren.”

Findlay said she acknowledged that the voice of the party’s members mattered, and if she could do things differently, she would.

“I have made decisions I would make differently with the benefit of hindsight. I have listened. I have reflected. And I take responsibility for the decisions that were mine to make,” Findlay wrote. “That is part of leadership. But disagreement should never become personal destruction. Public life requires a thick skin. I have spent much of my career in positions of public trust, and I understand that criticism comes with the territory. But attacks on someone’s character and family, and threats directed toward them, cross a line that should concern all of us, regardless of our politics. I am a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. Those responsibilities do not disappear when accepting the responsibility of political leadership. And there comes a moment when leadership requires you to consider not simply whether you can continue a fight, but whether continuing that fight serves the people and the cause you entered public life to serve.”

She said she has reached that moment as of Sunday, Sept. 20.

“I will not allow an internal battle over my leadership to become a continuing distraction from the work British Columbians need a strong opposition to do,” Findlay wrote. “I will not put my position ahead of the Party, and I will not put the Party’s internal disputes ahead of British Columbians. So today, I am resigning as Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, effective immediately. This is not a decision I have made lightly. Nor is it a decision made from bitterness. Today, I am choosing to step aside.”

Findlay said she continues to believe in the party and whoever takes her place as its next leader.

“And whoever leads this Party next deserves the opportunity, the time, and the support to succeed,” Findlay wrote. “Our Party needs a reset. We need to respect our members. We need to respect one another. And we need to remember why this movement exists in the first place. British Columbians did not send Conservatives into public life to fight one another. They expect us to fight for them. While I am stepping away from the leadership, I am not stepping away from public service. I will remain the Conservative candidate in Abbotsford-Mission and continue working to earn the confidence of the people who live there.”

She concluded her message with an expression of thanks to the party’s members and volunteers.

“To our members and volunteers: thank you for believing in this movement,” Findlay wrote. “To those who supported me through an extraordinarily difficult period: I will never forget it. To my team: thank you for your loyalty, professionalism, and hard work. And to my family: thank you for carrying burdens you never asked to carry and for standing beside me through all of it. I leave this position with my head held high, grateful for the opportunity to have served and confident that the principles that brought me into public life remain worth fighting for. I remain a Conservative. I remain committed to British Columbia, my home. And I sincerely hope that this moment allows our movement to turn the page, come together, and return its focus to where it belongs: On the people of British Columbia. Thank you.”