Surrey MLA Linda Hepner leaves B.C. Conservative caucus<\/p>\n
Published 11:25 am Sunday, September 20, 2026<\/p>\n
Surrey-Serpentine River MLA Linda Hepner has resigned from the B.C. Conservative caucus, stating a loss of confidence in the party\u2019s leadership. <\/p>\n
In a message received by a reporter with the Surrey Now-Leader, Hepner said she had decided to resign from the B.C. Conservative caucus effective immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have decided to resign from the Conservative Party of British Columbia caucus effective immediately,\u201d Hepner wrote. <\/p>\n
Hepner said she remains committed to conservative principles, responsible government and representing British Columbians, but said she had \u201clost confidence\u201d in the leadership\u2019s willingness to listen to experienced members and consider perspectives outside its immediate circle. <\/p>\n
The decision to remove former party leader John Rustad, Trevor Halford and Skeena MLA Claire Ratt\u00e9e from caucus brought those concerns \u201cto a head,\u201d Hepner said. <\/p>\n
Hepner specifically pointed to Rustad\u2019s history with the party, saying he \u201cbuilt this party from a single elected member\u201d and represents a connection to its grassroots. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe math simply does not add up. Grassroots members should be listened to, not simply appealed to and elected representatives should be able to offer honest advice without having their commitment questioned because they disagree with leadership,\u201d said Hepner in her message. <\/p>\n
Hepner also referenced concerns over what she called \u201cearly hiring disasters\u201d and allegations involving a private investigator. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am and have always considered myself a centrist conservative,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI believe conservatism is strongest when it is practical, reasonable and grounded \u2013 not when it becomes defined by ever-increasing division.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hepner apologizes for having to come to this decision but after decades of public service she believes she has a responsibility to exercise her own judgment and to protect the integrity of the legacy she said she\u2019s worked hard to build. <\/p>\n
Hepner said she will continue representing constituents of Surrey Serpentine River and British Columbians with independence, common sense and respect. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy heart is heavy to leave those in the caucus I\u2019ve come to care for and to admire but my tolerance for the current upheaval has been exhausted,\u201d Hepner said as she concluded her message. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Surrey MLA Linda Hepner leaves B.C. Conservative caucus Published 11:25 am Sunday, September 20, 2026 Surrey-Serpentine River MLA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":904143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-904142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=904142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/904143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=904142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=904142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=904142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}