Sixth B.C. Conservative MLA shifts to Independent status in less than two weeks

Six B.C. Conservative MLAs have left the party’s caucus since Aug. 14, including five departures between Aug. 24 and 27. The latest came Thursday, when Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman announced he would sit as an Independent.

Photo credit: Composite: Boundary Sentinel / supplied photos.

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A sixth B.C. Conservative MLA has left the party’s caucus in less than two weeks, with Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman announcing Thursday that he will sit as an Independent.

Banman’s departure on Aug. 27 follows five other Conservative MLAs who have left the caucus since Aug. 14, including four others since Monday. The departures come less than three months after Kerry-Lynne Findlay was elected leader of the party and weeks after the Conservatives publicly described their caucus as more united than ever.

Banman said conversations with constituents, along with what he had seen since the leadership race, had convinced him that the political coalition needed to defeat the NDP was getting smaller.

“When John Rustad and I started this movement in 2023, we did so on the premise of fiscal responsibility and bringing common sense back to BC politics,” Banman said in a statement Thursday.

He said he had high hopes following the leadership race but had since heard concerns from constituents about the party’s direction. Banman said British Columbians were raising affordability, housing, access to doctors and community safety with him, and said people had told him they considered Findlay unelectable.

“With a heavy heart I am announcing today I am joining an ever increasing number of MLAs to sit as an Independent MLA in the BC Legislature,” Banman said.

He also encouraged other MLAs, regardless of political affiliation, to join him.

Banman’s departure carries particular significance in the history of the provincial Conservative caucus.

John Rustad joined the Conservative Party of B.C. in February 2023 after previously sitting as an Independent, becoming its only elected MLA at the time.

Banman, who had been elected as a B.C. Liberal, crossed the floor to join Rustad in September 2023. The Legislative Assembly’s Parliamentary Education Office noted at the time that two MLAs were required for recognition as a political party in the legislature. Banman’s arrival therefore allowed the Conservatives to form a recognized caucus, with Rustad as leader and Banman as House leader.

The party expanded dramatically in the 2024 provincial election, when Conservative candidates won 44 of the legislature’s 93 seats. The NDP won 47 seats and the B.C. Greens won two.

The latest series of departures began Aug. 14, when Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar told Findlay he would leave the Conservative caucus and sit as an Independent. Findlay issued a statement thanking Milobar, who had served as the party’s finance critic and had also challenged her for the leadership earlier this year.

Delta South MLA Ian Paton followed on Aug. 24, saying the direction of the party under Findlay no longer aligned with his political beliefs. Paton and Milobar also announced plans to work toward establishing a new provincial political party.

Prince George-Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird left the following day and said she would continue representing her riding as an Independent.

Two more MLAs announced departures Wednesday.

Richmond-Bridgeport MLA Teresa Wat said she could no longer serve in the Conservative caucus under Findlay’s leadership. Wat said alleged remarks made during the leadership campaign had called her allegiance to Canada into question.

Courtenay-Comox MLA Brennan Day also left the caucus Wednesday and said he would sit as an independent conservative.

Banman’s announcement Thursday brings the number of Conservative caucus departures since Aug. 14 to six: Milobar, Paton, Bird, Wat, Day and Banman. Five of those departures have occurred since Monday.

Findlay was elected Conservative leader May 30, defeating Caroline Elliott on the fourth ballot of the party’s leadership contest with 51 per cent of the points to Elliott’s 49 per cent. Milobar had also been a candidate in the race.

On July 8, following a caucus meeting in Penticton, the party issued a statement declaring the B.C. Conservative caucus “more united than it has ever been.” The statement said all Conservative MLAs supported Findlay’s leadership and specifically named Milobar and former leader Rustad among those supporting her.

Milobar left the caucus just over five weeks later. Five more Conservative MLAs have followed.