⁠Former B.C. Conservative Leadership Rival Quits Party, Says He No Longer Fits Its ‘New Direction’

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British Columbia’s political right is facing another test of whether its once-broad coalition can hold together. Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar, a veteran provincial politician and recent contender for the B.C. Conservative leadership, announced on August 14 that he was leaving the Conservative caucus and would sit as an Independent. His explanation was pointed but measured: after watching the party develop under new leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Milobar concluded that his values no longer aligned with its direction.

The departure carries significance beyond one MLA changing affiliation. Milobar was the party’s finance critic, had spent months campaigning to lead it and represented a more moderate strand of the coalition that nearly formed government in 2024. His exit reopens questions about ideological divisions that the Conservatives had hoped their leadership race would settle.

Milobar Says the Break Was an Accumulation, Not One Dramatic Moment

Milobar described his decision as the result of several months of reflection rather than a sudden clash with Findlay. He acknowledged that Conservative members had legitimately chosen her as leader and said she had earned the right to shape the organization according to her vision. But that recognition did not eliminate the growing distance between that vision and his own political outlook. Speaking after announcing his departure, Milobar said there had been no single defining incident. Instead, concerns accumulated as he watched the party’s direction during Findlay’s first months in charge.

That distinction matters because Milobar remained actively involved until shortly before leaving. He was still working as the Conservatives’ finance critic earlier in the week, suggesting the resignation was not simply the aftermath of a dramatic caucus confrontation. He also stressed that he would continue representing Kamloops Centre, only now as an Independent. Milobar said his departure was not the end of the political conversation and promised more about what comes next, leaving his longer-term plans deliberately open.

Only Months Ago, Milobar Was Trying to Lead the Same Party

The speed of the political reversal is striking. Milobar launched his B.C. Conservative leadership campaign on January 16, presenting himself as an experienced legislator capable of turning a fractured Official Opposition into a government-in-waiting. His campaign emphasized affordability, health care, crime, property rights and economic management. He also pointed repeatedly to his experience in elected office, arguing that the party needed a leader prepared to confront the NDP inside the legislature from the first day.

Party members chose a different course. Milobar finished fifth among the five candidates who reached the final leadership ballot, receiving 10.5 per cent of the points on the opening round and becoming the first contender eliminated. Findlay eventually prevailed on the fourth ballot, defeating Caroline Elliott 51 per cent to 49 per cent. More than 25,000 members participated. Milobar initially accepted the result publicly, said leadership contests could become heated and pledged to support the new leader. Less than three months later, that attempted reconciliation had ended with his departure.

The Leadership Contest Exposed Differences That Never Fully Disappeared

Milobar was generally regarded as one of the more moderate candidates in the leadership field, although his own platform contained several distinctly conservative policies. He proposed repealing British Columbia’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and replacing it with a different reconciliation framework, while also campaigning heavily on public safety, affordability and property rights. His candidacy therefore was not a challenge to conservatism itself so much as an argument about what kind of conservative coalition could win across the province.

That argument was central to the leadership contest. Political scientists covering the race described it as a struggle over the identity of the B.C. centre-right, not merely a competition between personalities. Findlay campaigned on a more forceful message built around smaller government, individual and property rights, resource development and major political change. After winning, she spoke of challenging what she characterized as NDP ideology and entrenched interests. Milobar’s decision now suggests that the leadership vote settled who controlled the party without necessarily resolving whether all of its political factions could comfortably remain together.

A Bitter Leadership-Race Dispute Had Already Tested Their Relationship

One of the most difficult moments between Findlay and Milobar occurred during the leadership campaign when Findlay questioned whether Milobar could objectively address Indigenous-policy and property-rights issues because his wife and children are Indigenous. The criticism centred particularly on the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Milobar rejected the suggestion that his family created a conflict and condemned the line of attack. The dispute became one of the most contentious episodes of the leadership race and drew criticism from the B.C. NDP as well.

The two nevertheless publicly attempted to move on after Findlay’s victory. Milobar said in late May that he respected both the membership’s decision and Findlay’s authority as leader. Findlay similarly indicated she could work with him, and Milobar remained finance critic after the transition. That history makes his August departure more politically revealing. The relationship survived an unusually personal leadership contest but apparently could not bridge the broader ideological concerns Milobar says developed once Findlay began putting her leadership into practice.

Milobar Brings Nearly Two Decades of Elected Experience With Him

This is not the departure of a newcomer who briefly passed through the Conservative caucus. Milobar has been part of public life in Kamloops for more than two decades. He served two terms as a city councillor from 2002 to 2008 before winning the mayor’s office and serving three consecutive terms between 2008 and 2017. He then moved into provincial politics, winning Kamloops-North Thompson as a B.C. Liberal in 2017 and again in 2020 before the party later rebranded as B.C. United.

His provincial résumé included roles as Opposition house leader and critic for finance, environment and climate change, and Indigenous relations and reconciliation. After B.C. United abruptly suspended its 2024 election campaign, Milobar joined the Conservatives and won the newly created Kamloops Centre riding. Elections B.C. ultimately declared him elected as part of a 44-member Conservative contingent. Local results showed him winning by 2,004 votes, with roughly 49 per cent of ballots cast. That electoral history gives his move more weight than a routine caucus reshuffle.

The Conservatives Had Already Endured a Year of Serious Internal Turmoil

Milobar’s departure lands on a party that has experienced extraordinary growth and equally extraordinary internal conflict. In October 2024, the B.C. Conservatives won 44 of the legislature’s 93 seats, compared with 47 for the NDP and two for the Greens. A party that had spent decades on the political margins suddenly became the Official Opposition and came remarkably close to forming government. Elections B.C. recorded more than 2.1 million voters province-wide, with turnout estimated at 58.3 per cent.

The months that followed were far less orderly. Five Conservative MLAs left or were removed from caucus during John Rustad’s leadership amid disputes ranging from residential-school comments to leadership and party-management battles. By December 2025, 20 members of the Conservative caucus had signed a letter seeking Rustad’s resignation. Rustad ultimately stepped aside after an extraordinary struggle over his leadership. Findlay’s May victory was supposed to begin a more stable phase. Milobar’s exit does not recreate that earlier crisis by itself, but it shows that questions about unity have not disappeared.

Findlay Responded With Praise Rather Than a Public Counterattack

Findlay’s immediate response was notably restrained. She said Milobar had contacted her directly to explain his decision and thanked him for his years of public service and his work as the Conservatives’ shadow minister for finance. Rather than accusing her former leadership rival of betrayal, Findlay described him as a valued member of the team and wished him well in his future advocacy. The tone contrasted with the bitter exchanges that characterized parts of the earlier leadership campaign.

That response may help prevent one resignation from immediately becoming another open caucus war. Yet it does not remove the political problem created by Milobar’s explanation. A resignation based on personal ambition can be dismissed relatively easily; a resignation explicitly linked to values and party direction invites a broader debate about who still feels represented inside the coalition. Fellow Kamloops Conservative MLA Ward Stamer said he had no intention of leaving and continued to praise the party’s policies and team, underscoring that Milobar’s choice should not automatically be interpreted as the beginning of a mass departure.

His Independent Status Creates a New Question About B.C.’s Political Centre

Milobar has been careful not to announce a destination. Asked whether he might join CentreBC or another political organization, he said he had held no such discussions and described the resignation as a decision he needed to make on its own. At the same time, his comments leave little doubt that he still wants the NDP defeated. He said it remained important to him that the governing party lose the next election and argued that the Conservatives must demonstrate they can provide the alternative — or someone else will have to.

That creates an intriguing tension. British Columbia’s centre-right consolidated rapidly in 2024 after B.C. United suspended its campaign, reducing the risk that competing parties would split the anti-NDP vote. Milobar himself was part of that consolidation. His departure illustrates how difficult maintaining such a coalition can become once voters are no longer united principally by the goal of defeating an incumbent government. For now, he remains one Independent MLA. Whether his decision becomes an isolated disagreement or evidence of a larger political realignment will depend on what happens next.

What Happens Next Could Matter More Than the Resignation Itself

Milobar has deliberately left room for another move. He said he expects to have more to say about the road ahead and characterized his departure as the beginning of a conversation rather than its conclusion. His immediate priority remains representing Kamloops Centre, and there is no confirmed agreement for him to join another caucus or political party. That makes claims about a new centrist movement, another leadership challenge or a wave of Conservative defections premature.

Still, the next few months will test both Milobar and Findlay. Milobar must show that sitting outside a major caucus can provide tangible benefits for constituents rather than merely greater political freedom. Findlay, meanwhile, must demonstrate that the party can sharpen its ideological identity without shrinking the coalition that produced 44 seats in 2024. The Conservatives came within striking distance of government by bringing together voters and politicians from different centre-right traditions. Milobar’s departure is a reminder that assembling that coalition and keeping it together are two different political challenges.

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