On Tuesday morning, B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay acknowledged that more legislators could be poised to leave her caucus. Less than three hours later, she was proved right. Rosalyn Bird, a former caucus whip, became the third Conservative legislator this month to make their exit, issuing warnings about divisive leadership, racism and homophobia as she closed the door behind her. It’s the latest in a long line of departures from the Conservatives since Findlay’s leadership win in May, both in the elected caucus and the party executive. Bird, who said in a statement that she would continue to represent Prince George — Valemount as an Independent, said freedom of speech matters, but does not relieve people of responsibility for what they choose to say. “Political leaders should understand that words and actions have consequences. They can bring people together, or they can deliberately drive them apart,” she said. She continued: “We should be able to firmly reject racism, antisemitism, homophobia and hatred while still having difficult and necessary conversations about immigration, Indigenous reconciliation, addiction, crime, gender, religion and the many other issues on which reasonable people sometimes disagree.” Bird, who won her seat in 2024 with 55 per cent of the vote, announced her departure after Findlay held her first news conference with shadow cabinet members. The news conference came one day after the departure from the Conservatives of Ian Paton, who quit on Monday, and Peter Milobar who left earlier this month. Like Bird, both cited misalignment on values. “There may even be others that leave our caucus. I don’t know,” Findlay told reporters in Vancouver. “But if they’re leaving, that means they do not have a vision for prosperity and hope that we’re presenting for all British Columbians. It means somewhere along the way, they’ve decided that they know better than us where we should be going.” Bird said British Columbians are “tired of the infighting, name-calling and mudslinging that too often defines our politics,” and that legislators should be able to disagree respectfully and work collaboratively if possible. Along with the MLAs, major party figures including former executive director Angelo Isidorou and ex-president Aisha Estey, who both helped build the party from obscurity to official Opposition, are out. Findlay told the news conference that she didn’t fire anyone and executives who left “either left voluntarily or they were moved out by the board of the party.” “I wasn’t even part of those discussions. I received the information of their mutual departure,” she said, without identifying anyone. She said she had not changed the party’s platform since winning the leadership and that some may have made decisions based on “wanting to be the leader, or not liking the choice of the membership.” That was an apparent shot at Milobar who was among the unsuccessful candidates for the leadership. Findlay won the party leadership by a narrow margin, receiving 51 per cent of member votes after four rounds of balloting, defeating commentator Caroline Elliott who had 49 per cent of the votes. Paton and Milobar said Monday they are forming a new party for voters who are dissatisfied with the governing New Democrats but “do not see a path forward” with the Conservatives under Findlay. Bird said she would sit as an Independent and while her affiliation may be changing, her responsibility to her riding is not. She lamented the loss of some “ability to disagree without assuming the worst about one another.” “I do not believe that is healthy for our politics, our institutions or our province,” she said. Before entering politics, Bird had a career with the Canadian Armed Forces, most recently as a naval logistics officer. B.C. Premier David Eby said of the recent opposition caucus departures that the Conservatives were “a mess” and the party represented a choice of “pulling people apart, avoiding the media, chaos, and more expensive homes, and sucking up to Donald Trump.” The Conservatives came to the brink of power in the 2024 provincial election, winning 44 seats. But differences over its ideological and strategic directions, first under John Rustad and then Findlay, resulted in exits on both flanks that have helped reduce the caucus to 34. There was also the ejection from caucus of Hon Chan after his arrest on assault charges, as well as the recent resignation of Reann Gasper, who has stepped aside as legislator for Abbotsford-Mission so Findlay can run for that riding. Gasper will take a paid post as Findlay’s deputy chief of staff. In a statement later on Tuesday, Findlay said her party would hold open nominations to find people to run against the defectors. This report by Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press, was first published Aug. 25, 2026.
