British Columbia New Democrats won't court B.C. Conservative defectors, after nine legislators left the official Opposition caucus in the past three weeks, Premier David Eby said.
Eby told an unrelated news conference Thursday that there was a "fairly significant gap" between the positions of his party and the defectors from Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay's caucus.
He said these ranged from Canada's relationship with the United States and the Trump administration to positions on First Nations and the importance of the Human Rights Act.
In July, Independent MLA Amelia Boultbee joined the NDP more than eight months after she left the Conservative caucus, but Eby said her values aligned with the NDP and the party got to know her over time.
Findlay's caucus numbers have been in freefall since mid-August, with Scott McInnis and Donegal Wilson the most recent to quit on Wednesday, both citing ethical concerns and Findlay's reported connections to Alberta separatists.
Findlay narrowly won the Conservative leadership in May and is running in a byelection later this month hoping to gain a seat in the legislature representing the Abbotsford-Mission riding.
The NDP will be represented on the ballot by former agriculture minister Pam Alexis who lost the seat in the 2024 provincial election.
Findlay said in a statement Thursday that she took her position as party leader seriously and intended "to lead it with determination, with humility and with the experience to know that strong leaders listen, learn and make changes when changes are needed."
She said British Columbians were not interested in political infighting.
"Our party has grown tremendously in a very short period of time. With that growth have come challenges and disagreements," she said.
"I have listened carefully to our members, our caucus and British Columbians, and I know there are things we can do better but our platform remains the same."
Defectors have cited ideological and strategy differences with Findlay, with legislator Bruce Banman calling her "unelectable" and saying she had surrounded herself with people concerned about whether MLAs are "hard right enough."
Another defector, Ian Paton, said on Tuesday that he was going to be interviewed by RCMP and expected to be asked about allegedly being offered a job to give up his seat so Findlay could run.
Findlay has denied offering jobs in exchange for resignations, and said that suggestions that a recording released online shows she illegally did so, are "preposterous."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
