Former B.C. Conservative MLA Peter Milobar speaks during a leadership debate at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference in Vancouver on Friday, April 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

By The Canadian Press

Milobar’s new party gains seventh B.C. legislator as Donegal Wilson joins

Sep 14, 2026 | 9:28 AM

VICTORIA — The new party led by former B.C. Conservative legislator Peter Milobar has gained a seventh MLA as a member, Boundary-Similkameen’s Donegal Wilson.

All are among the nine MLAs who have defected from the provincial Conservative caucus in recent weeks.

The as-yet unnamed party was founded by Milobar and Ian Paton and has since been joined by other legislators who have quit the Conservatives, Bruce Banman, A’a:liya Warbus, Rosalyn Bird and Teresa Wat.

The group plans to sit as a caucus when the B.C. legislature resumes next month.

Two other former Conservative MLAs, Scott McInnis and Brennan Day, say they will sit as Independents.

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Those who have quit the party have cited issues including the leadership and strategies of Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, who was narrowly elected in May and faces a byelection to win a place in the legislature later this month.

Banman has called Findlay “unelectable” and levelled scathing criticism about the direction of the party under her leadership, calling out those around her for creating a “purity test” of whether legislators were “hard right enough.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Milobar’s new party gains seventh B.C. legislator as Donegal Wilson joins

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