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Delta South MLA Ian Paton said he is leaving the B.C. Conservative caucus.
Paton made the announcement from the front steps of the legislature, joined by Peter Milobar, the MLA for Kamloops Centre who left the caucus 10 days ago.
Paton and Milobar said they plan to form a new political party with Milobar as interim leader. A minimum of two MLAs are required to form an official political party, which comes with a legislative budget for staff.
“We want to be clear that our intention is to form a new party in the B.C. Legislature, to give a home to those who feel politically homeless in this province and to stop the NDP from further destruction of British Columbia,” Paton said.
“I can no longer sit back, watching my opportunity, watching any opportunity to get the province back on track slip by.”
Paton said he informed leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay of his decision Monday morning by text message, and that they have barely spoken since she became leader on May 30.
WATCH | Finance critic Peter Milobar leaves B.C. Conservatives caucus to sit as Independent:
Finance critic Peter Milobar leaves B.C. Conservatives caucus to sit as Independent
Finance critic Peter Milobar has left the B.C. Conservative caucus and will sit as an Independent MLA. As the CBC’s Katie DeRosa reports, Milobar says his values don’t align with the party’s new direction under leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay.
Both Paton and Milobar expressed concerns about the direction of Findlay’s leadership.
Paton was the party’s agriculture critic. He and two other MLAs publicly confirmed last month they rejected requests from Findlay to resign their seats so she could run for a seat in the legislature.
Reann Gasper, elected as an MLA for Abbotsford-Mission in 2024, announced on Saturday that she will step down from her seat so Findlay can run in a byelection. A date for that has not yet been set.
Paton claimed Findlay offered him the position of political adviser on agriculture for the party in order to resign his seat. He said there was no financial offer.
But Findlay disputed Paton’s version of events, saying in a statement to CBC News: “At no point did we discuss MLA Ian Paton stepping down in exchange for a job of any description.”
“MLA Paton insisted that, should he decide to leave elected office, he wanted to remain involved in agriculture in some capacity. In response to him, we discussed that if he were no longer a sitting MLA or a member of caucus, we would be open to discussing an unspecified advisory role related to agriculture.”
Findlay said on social media that she’s “disappointed” in Paton’s decision and thanked him for his contributions to the caucus.
“The Conservative Party of B.C. remains firm and steadfast in our mission to defeat the NDP and restore prosperity, opportunity and accountability to British Columbia. There is important work ahead, and we will remain focused on delivering the change British Columbians deserve,” Findlay said.
Paton said since Findlay took over the leadership, she’s ejected competent people from key caucus leadership roles and “purged” staff.
Findlay, who during the leadership campaign said she was running to avoid a Liberal takeover of the party, has been facing divisions in the big-tent party, which includes former B.C. Liberal MLAs.
Paton said that during caucus meetings, he felt a level of mistrust toward him because he’s a former B.C. Liberal.
He also said some MLAs were “muzzled” and prevented from talking to the media.
Milobar said the intention is not to join Centre B.C., a party led by former B.C. Liberal MLA Mike Bernier, but to start a new political party. The pair have not yet announced a party name.
“We are in the process of getting things organized,” Milobar said.
Elenore Sturko, the Independent MLA for Surrey Cloverdale, said she plans to talk to Milobar and Paton about the new party but she has not committed to joining.
“I will be watching very closely and will reach out to learn more about the party they want to build and what their future plans are,” Sturko said. “I do feel very strongly that we need a credible alternative to defeat the NDP and the B.C. Conservative party under Kerry-Lynne Findlay.”
She said a new party under Milobar as interim leader has potential to “capture the attention of voters.”
“[Paton and Milobar] have demonstrated over time that they are willing to uphold not only their own values but the values of the people they serve.”
The B.C. NDP caucus was quick to put out a news release linking Milobar and Paton to the former B.C. Liberal government under Christy Clark, despite the fact that both MLAs were elected in 2017, an election won by the NDP under John Horgan.
“Ian Paton and Peter Milobar deserve credit for not going along with Findlay’s Trump-style culture war, but British Columbians don’t need a repeat of their failed B.C. Liberal approach,” said Darlene Rotchford, MLA for Esquimalt-Colwood.
“The B.C. Liberal record worked well for the richest and corporate insiders, but made life harder and more expensive for everyone else.”