B.C. Conservative Party Begins Leadership Vote With Five Candidates

D.C. Conservative leadership contest opened Saturday morning by preferential ballot. The winner will be announced at the party convention on May 30. Five candidates are running: Iain Black, Caroline Elliott, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Peter Milobar and Yuri Fulmer. They seek to replace interim leader Trevor Halford, who took the post in December after John Rustad resigned.

Friday, party officials held a two-hour meeting to consider removing Findlay, a former South Surrey-White Rock MP, from the ballot. The leadership committee decided against disqualification. The meeting followed a Wednesday report by Business in Vancouver stating that Findlay is under investigation by the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections over expenses from her unsuccessful 2025 federal re-election campaign.

The report said a complaint alleges her campaign received about $75,000 in undeclared services from a corporation in exchange for federal contracts. CBC News has not independently verified the allegations. The Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections has not confirmed whether it received a complaint or opened a review.

D.C. Conservative leadership committee said it contacted Findlay’s campaign for information but received no cooperation, and found insufficient credible evidence for further action.

D.C. Conservative leader Trevor Bolin said the party made the correct decision. “I think disqualifying Kerry-Lynne Findlay would have been more of a knee-jerk reaction,” Bolin said. ” University of British Columbia political scientist Stewart Prest said the timing of the allegations could affect the final days of the race.

“These are serious allegations and they’re the kind of end-of-race surprise that really can change the dynamic,” Prest said. Party membership grew from 7,000 in December to 42,000 by the April 18 sign-up deadline. The race has featured multiple public debates focused on ideology and the definition of conservatism.