NEW WESTMINSTER — The Conservative Party of BC has revoked the membership of Amelia Boultbee, the already Independent MLA for Penticton-Summerland, according to a source within the party who spoke to the Western Standard exclusively.
According to the source, who asked to remain anonymous, Boultbee’s party membership was revoked under the party’s Constitutional bylaw 2.08.
The bylaw states that “any member who joins or publicly supports another provincial political party, or publicly campaigns against an officially nominated Conservative Party of BC candidate for the Legislative Assembly, immediately forfeits their membership.
"The board of directors or secretary is to inform the member in writing of the forfeiture and its cause.”
Boultbee did not respond to a request for comment prior to deadline.
Boultbee was elected in the October 2024 provincial election as a BC Conservative, helping the party form the Official Opposition. She represents the riding of Penticton-Summerland in the Okanagan.
Her formal exodus from the party began a year later in October 2025 when she resigned from the BC Conservative caucus to sit as an Independent, becoming the fifth MLA to leave the party’s ranks since the election.
At the time, Boultbee cited deep concerns with party leader John Rustad’s leadership. She called on Rustad to resign, describing his conduct as “the unravelling” of the party leader and a matter of integrity rather than policy differences.
Rustad pushed back by questioning Boultbee’s mental health, shortly before his own party board removed him as leader, deeming him “professionally incapacitated.”
Despite leaving the caucus, Boultbee initially retained her party membership and continued to describe herself as a conservative. She said she would focus on representing her constituents and advancing the policy platform she was elected on while sitting as an Independent.
The revocation of her membership under bylaw 2.08 now severs her formal ties to the party entirely, though it theoretically opens the door for her to join another party in future.