B.C. Conservative party official allegedly hired private investigator to scrutinize MLAs

Published 4:01 pm Thursday, September 17, 2026

A senior B.C. Conservative Party official allegedly hired a private investigator to scrutinize several sitting members of the legislature — some of whom still belong to the party — as well as at least one journalist.

“Confirmation that a private investigator was assigned and that I was being investigated only reinforces why I chose to part company with [party Leader] Kerry-Lynne Findlay and the Conservatives,” Courtenay-Comox MLA Brennan Day said in a written statement to Today in BC.

“It is impossible to point your guns outward at the government when you’re too busy pointing them inward at your own caucus.”

Day left the Conservative caucus in late August, saying he had lost faith in Findlay’s “judgment, conduct, and ethical standards.” He is now sitting as an Independent.

Some of the alleged targets have posted publicly online after being informed of the snooping, including Rob Shaw of CHEK News and Business in Vancouver.

“Certainly a first for me, to have a private investigator put on me by a political party,” Shaw posted on social media.

Skeena MLA Claire Rattée — still a member of the B.C. Conservative Caucus — posted a statement on social media confirming she was also a target.

“I can confirm that yesterday afternoon [Sept 16] I was formally informed by the Conservative Party of British Columbia that a senior party official allegedly hired a private investigator, which may concern violations of my privacy, and possibly other harms,” she wrote.

“I am deeply troubled by these allegations.”

Former B.C. Conservative executive director Elaine Allen allegedly hired the investigator. Allen took over for Angelo Isidorou after he left the party in late July, but was ousted just one month later.

Findlay told reporters on Thursday she did not know about the hiring of the private investigator.

“I had no knowledge of it. I was unaware of it,” she said. “So I can’t really respond, and they are just allegations at the moment.”