Kerry-Lynne Findlay Narrowly Wins BC Conservative Leadership, Replacing John Rustad

Kerry-Lynne Findlay was elected leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia on 30 May 2026, winning a tightly contested race at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Reporting indicated she prevailed on the fourth ballot with about 51 percent against runner-up Caroline Elliott's roughly 49 percent—described as the closest leadership result in the party's modern history, with a margin of about 182 weighted points (roughly two percentage points). She defeated four other candidates including Elliott, Peter Milobar (who finished fifth), Iain Black and Yuri Fulmer.

Voting was conducted entirely online via the Simply Voting system using a preferential ranked ballot from 23 to 29 May 2026. Findlay, a lawyer and former federal Minister of National Revenue under then-prime minister Stephen Harper, campaigned on a platform of 'more freedom, less government,' citing her record on cutting taxes and red tape. She succeeds John Rustad, whose departure followed internal party turmoil that had shrunk the caucus from 44 to 39 members after the party came within a narrow margin of winning the October 2024 provincial election.

The BC Conservatives are the official opposition in the provincial legislature, and the contest sets the leadership ahead of the next provincial campaign.