British Columbia Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, speaks at the Union of BC Municipalities convention in Vancouver, on Sept. 17, 2026. The Canadian Press/Rich Lam
Former B.C. Conservative Party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay congratulated Lorne Doerkson on winning the provincial election and becoming premier-designate.
“I have sent personal congratulations to our newly elected Premier, [Lorne Doerkson], on his historic victory,” Findlay wrote on social media.
“I am hopeful that under his leadership British Columbians will see the changes to how our province is governed that I, and so many others, have long advocated for.”
Findlay won the party’s leadership race on May 30 but resigned in September amid a caucus revolt that saw 14 Conservative members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) either leave the party or were ousted during her four-month tenure.
Doerkson was appointed as interim leader by caucus a few hours after Findlay’s resignation on Sept. 20. Two days later, Premier and NDP leader David Eby called a snap election.
The B.C. Conservatives won a majority government in the province’s election on Oct. 24.
Related Stories
Under the party’s constitution, an interim leader can only serve until a new leader is chosen and can’t run in a leadership race. However, the party’s board of directors said on Sept. 23 that it would amend the rules to allow Doerkson to remain leader if he leads the Conservatives to win the election on Oct. 24.
Findlay is a former federal cabinet minister under the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
When she resigned on Sept. 20, she was still slated to run for a seat in the provincial legislature in the Abbotsford-Mission byelection on Sept. 26. The byelection was called after BC Conservative MLA Reann Gasper vacated her seat to provide Findlay with a chance to become an MLA. It was cancelled after Eby called the provincial general election on Sept. 22 thereby dissolving the B.C. parliament.
“Energy that should have been directed toward challenging the NDP, advancing our principles, and preparing to form government has instead been spent fighting among ourselves,” Findlay said when announcing her resignation. “The battle for Conservatives should not be with Conservatives.”
After Findlay’s resignation, her husband, Brent Chapman, then-BC Conservative MLA for the Surrey South riding, left the party on the same day to joined the OneBC Party, which was formed in 2025 after a split with the BC Conservatives.
Two weeks later, on Oct. 4, OneBC issued a statement announcing that the party and Chapman mutually decided that he will not run in Surry South in the Oct. 24 election. The statement also said Chapman and Findlay have been subjected to a “torrent of threats and abuse from insiders” and that “the strains of the last few months have been enormous.”
We had a problem loading this article. Please enable javascript or use a different browser. If the issue persists, please visit our help center.
