Kerry-Lynne Findlay

She was a federal cabinet minister from 2013 to 2015 and an MP until 2025, and led the Conservative Party of British Columbia from 30 May to 20 September 2026. She is named as the Conservative candidate in the planned 2026 Abbotsford-Mission by-election, which she said on 20 September she still intended to contest.

Career

Findlay was born on 12 January 1955, took a BA (1975) and a law degree (1978) at the University of British Columbia and became Queen's Counsel in 1999. She was MP for Delta—Richmond East from 2011 to 2015, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, Associate Minister of National Defence in 2013 and Minister of National Revenue from 2013 to 2015. She won South Surrey—White Rock in 2019 and 2021, served as Chief Opposition Whip from 2023, and lost the seat in 2025 to the Liberal Ernie Klassen, 50.5% to 45.7%. She became leader of the BC Conservatives on 30 May 2026.

Positions

Wikipedia describes Findlay as socially conservative and right-wing populist. She opposed carbon pricing and the provincial law implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and opposed the SOGI education policy in the province. Her party, which Wikipedia places at centre-right to right-wing, backs resource extraction and the removal of carbon taxes.

Controversies

During her four months as leader the BC Conservative caucus saw resignations and ousters, rapid turnover of senior staff and a revelation that the party had hired a private investigator to look into her critics, according to CP24. Fourteen MLAs left the caucus in that time, leaving 24 of the 44 seats won in 2024. She resigned as leader on 20 September 2026, writing that too much time had been consumed by internal conflict.

Summarised automatically from the linked sources. Wikipedia · CP24 · Global News · Wikipedia

Photo: Taymaz Valley from Ottawa, Canada, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons (cropped)