Former South Surrey-White Rock MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay has set her sights on leadership of the province’s Conservative Party.
In a campaign launch video shared Thursday (Jan. 29), Findlay says British Columbians are “getting crushed” by the NDP and Liberals alike.
“The NDP raises taxes and pushes radical ideology. And now – BC Liberal insiders are trying to take over the Conservative Party of BC. The Liberals want to steal the Conservative name … and push the same hidden liberal agenda.
“Let me be clear: Liberals are not taking over our Conservative Party. Not on my watch.”
Findlay told Peace Arch News in December that she was undecided as to whether she would take a run at leading the party, following John Rustad’s Dec. 4 resignation. Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford is the current interim leader of the Official Opposition.
Findlay lost her federal seat to Liberal Ernie Klassen in April 2025, after Klassen successfully traded his White Rock councillor position for a role on the federal stage.
She was party whip under Pierre Poilievre and a former cabinet minister, and represented South Surrey-White Rock as a Conservative MP from 2019 to 2025, and Delta-Richmond East from 2011 to 2015. Her husband Brent Chapman – who last summer announced he was fighting cancer – is the BC Conservative MLA for Surrey South.
In a Jan. 29 news release announcing her campaign, Findlay points to the BC Liberals’ vote for DRIPA (Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act), creation of the SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) approach in schools, creation of the carbon tax and vote to “condemn and smear” the Freedom Convoy as examples of that party’s failings.
She said she is running “to keep this party Conservative – and defeat the NDP.”
“The NDP raises taxes and lets crime and chaos spread. They pushed radical ideology in our schools, and took away your freedoms, and now maybe even your home. The BC Liberals are no different.”
Cut taxes, stop the extortion, bring down prices, build Canadian pipelines and “keep men out of girls’ locker rooms,” are among “real conservative solutions” Findlay has pledged to deliver.
She’s also promised to “get woke ideology out of our schools.”
“This race is a simple choice: A reliable Conservative, or a Liberal takeover,” she said.