PENTICTON — Four-term Richmond-Bridgeport MLA Teresa Wat has left the Conservative Party of BC caucus, saying she can no longer serve under leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay after the leader questioned her loyalty to Canada and then failed to correct the record.Wat said in a statement posted to X on Wednesday morning that she will sit as an Independent member of the Legislative Assembly. She is the fourth Conservative MLA to walk out of Findlay’s caucus in 12 days..“I’ve made the decision today that I can no longer serve as a member of the BC Conservative Caucus under the leadership of Kerry-Lynne Findlay,” Wat wrote. “I cannot continue to sit in a caucus led by someone who has questioned my loyalty without evidence and, when given the opportunity to correct the record, has failed to do so.”The break traces back to July 29, when an anonymous X account styling itself The Findlay Files published what it described as a May 6 leadership-campaign group-chat message attributed to Findlay. The text, first reported that day by the Western Standard, referred to Wat as “CCP” and claimed she had “sold many memberships to CCP Chinese in Richmond.”.Findlay did not deny the message. Postmedia later reported that a screen recording of the chat showed it originating from her personal cellphone. She instead posted that she had held a “wonderful discussion” with Wat, praised her work as critic for multiculturalism and community partnerships, and framed the episode as an inevitable political attack on a rising party.Wat says she tried to move on. She was travelling with family when the leak landed, had a brief conversation with Findlay in which the leader “did not apologize and wanted to focus on what’s ahead of us,” and chose at the time to put the matter behind her.That calculation changed when she returned home and heard from constituents. Friends and community members told her they rejected the allegation and were shocked that no apology had been issued. Wat said the remarks had caused “real damage” to her reputation and “serious concern within the community.”“Following an exchange with Ms. Findlay and her Chief of Staff earlier this week, I was told an apology and clarification would be issued,” Wat wrote. “To date, no statement has been issued.”There is no public finding by a Canadian inquiry, regulator or police service tying Wat to the Chinese Communist Party. Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, who has campaigned against foreign interference, called on Findlay in July either to take evidence to the RCMP and remove Wat from caucus or to apologize. Findlay did neither.Wat joined the Conservatives from BC United on July 30, 2024, saying at the time that defeating Premier David Eby’s New Democrats was the “number one priority” she heard from Richmond constituents and that Rustad’s party was the vehicle to do it. She won Richmond-Bridgeport that October with 58.19% of the vote.She has sat in the legislature since 2013, first as a BC Liberal, later under the BC United banner, and served in Christy Clark’s cabinet as minister of international trade and minister responsible for the Asia Pacific strategy and multiculturalism. Before politics she was news director at Channel M Television, now OMNI TV..The departure deepens a caucus unravel that began after Findlay won the leadership on May 30. Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar left on August 14, citing a values clash. Delta South MLA Ian Paton followed on August 24. The pair have said they will register a new centre-right party before the fall sitting. Prince George-Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird quit on Tuesday, pointing to “political infighting, name-calling and division.”That is four MLAs gone from Findlay’s caucus in 12 days, not counting Abbotsford-Mission MLA Reann Gasper, who announced she will resign her seat so Findlay can seek it in a by-election. The Conservatives won 44 seats in the 2024 election. After Wednesday’s announcement they are down to 34 sitting caucus members.Wat said she made the decision “with a heavy heart,” proud of what the party achieved after she crossed the floor, but convinced that progress is now at risk.“I firmly believe we need an alternative to the NDP that is trying to grow and not one trying to divide,” she wrote. “That is not the direction of the BC Conservatives under Kerry-Lynne Findlay.”She thanked colleagues who stood with her, called them friends, and said she will keep serving Richmond-Bridgeport. “As a four-term MLA, I know politics can be cut throat and a blood sport. I’ve never liked that about it. I’ve never subscribed to it.”Findlay had already signalled more exits were possible. Speaking in Vancouver on Tuesday before Bird’s announcement, she said some members “do not have a vision for prosperity and hope that we’re presenting for all British Columbians.”Neither Findlay nor the Conservative caucus had issued a public response to Wat’s statement at the time of publication. The Western Standard has requested comment.
