‘Trump-style’ or ‘progressive-ideas’? Both sides rush to redefine B.C. Conservatives

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But interim B.C. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson, who was installed on Sunday after Findlay’s resignation, moved quickly to distance his party from Trump as he addressed media with caucus members after the election call.

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“B.C. and Canada are facing unacceptable threats, tariffs and rhetoric from a bully south of the border,” Doerkson said. “The NDP’s failure to grow and diversify trade has left us even more vulnerable to the United States and the attacks from that bully.”

Reporters asked Eby on Wednesday about his critiques of the Conservatives, given Doerkson’s anti-Trump comments, and said “whether it’s any one of the last four leaders of the Conservatives in the last ten months, the ideas are the same.”

He said there are now three parties gunning for conservative votes, with former Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko now at the helm of CentreBC, while MLA Brent Chapman, Findlay’s spouse, has jumped to OneBC.

Eby said the choice being put to voters involves either standing up to Trump or “folding” and embracing his policies that would “turn us into America junior.”

“That’s the Conservative vision. People deserve that choice. They need to have that choice in this moment,” the NDP leader said.

Peter Milobar, who rejoined the Conservatives on Tuesday after quitting the party because of Findlay, said he’s returned to a “progressive-ideas, conservative-values” party.

A’a:liya Warbus, one of the few Indigenous members in the B.C. legislature, was also among a group of seven CentreBC members who rejoined the Conservatives.

She said in a statement that Findlay’s exit is a chance for the party to take a “responsible, progressive-conservative approach.”

Findlay’s leadership that lasted less than four months saw her try to frame the Conservatives as a party of “faith, family and freedom.”

She mostly avoided interviews with traditional media, instead speaking with conservative influencers, and last month put out an AI social media video depicting Eby as a Stalin-like leader waging a “culture war” on B.C.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2026.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press