BREAKING: Á'a:líya Warbus leaves Conservative caucus, citing postponed meeting and lost faith in Findlay

PENTICTON - Chilliwack-Cultus Lake MLA Á'a:líya Warbus has left the Conservative Party of BC caucus and will sit as an Independent, saying she has lost confidence she can represent her constituents under Kerry-Lynne Findlay..Warbus posted a written statement to X at 8:15 a.m. Monday, the hour a Richmond caucus meeting was supposed to start before it was postponed for a month. She had been outside the country through last week’s walkouts and returned Sunday.“I am disappointed to announce I am leaving the Conservative caucus to sit as an independent,” she wrote. “I have lost confidence I can do that from within this caucus, under this leadership.”She is the seventh sitting Conservative to leave Findlay’s caucus since August 14, and the first to go after the meeting that was meant to air the damage was pushed into late September. Findlay won the leadership three months ago today..Warbus did not blame a single slight. She pointed to decisions “or lack there of,” a “parade of people that have already come and gone in the span of three short months,” and a “critical breakdown in communication” with the public, MLAs and staff.“Caucus members have learned of hirings, firings, critic appointments, and leadership positions through any and all channels including social media before being informed by leadership,” the statement said.She listed the pile-up that was supposed to be on Monday’s agenda: six sitting MLAs already gone, allegations involving the director of operations, the circumstances of Abbotsford-Mission MLA Reann Gasper’s resignation, and the public statements of Delta South MLA Ian Paton and Prince George-Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird.“The decision to postpone today’s caucus meeting for a month reflects the lack of value being placed on caucus members and their opinions,” she wrote. “It is one thing to ask for people’s trust, and quite another to blind fold someone and expect faith alone to substitute for transparency and accountability.”.Radio host Jas Johal reported Sunday the Richmond sit-down had been cancelled. Findlay and the party had not posted a cancellation of their own. Warbus treats the delay as a verdict..“This mounting instability is not what anyone would expect from the next Premier of our Province,” she wrote. “Much of the news coming out of the BC Conservatives as of late, does not reflect the honest values of leadership and governance our constituents expect of us.”She closed on the one line that will follow her into the fall sitting. “My support for common sense policies has not changed, but I am disappointed nonetheless that my faith in Ms. Findlay’s ability to lead this party to victory has.”Neither Findlay nor the Conservative caucus had issued a public response at the time of publication. .Warbus is a member of the Stó:lō Nation and the first Stó:lō person elected to the legislature. Her father is Steven Point, the former lieutenant-governor. Her mother, Dr. Gwendolyn Point, is a Stó:lō educator and former University of the Fraser Valley chancellor. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in film production from UBC, taught in Capilano University’s Indigenous Digital Film program, and served as director of cultural communications for the Stó:lō Xwexwilmexw Government. She is a mother of three.John Rustad named her Official Opposition House Leader on November 20, 2024. She kept the job under interim leader Trevor Halford. Findlay dropped her on June 29 and moved her to housing critic the next day. Sheldon Clare took the house-leader post.She won the new Chilliwack-Cultus Lake seat on October 19, 2024 with 13,656 votes, 54.58%, over New Democrat Kelli Paddon’s 11,366. The riding was carved from parts of Chilliwack and Chilliwack-Kent. It is not a safe Conservative lock if the right-of-centre vote splits before the next general election.The six who left before her did not leave for the same reason. Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar walked August 14, saying his values no longer aligned with Findlay’s “new direction.” Paton followed August 24 and later said chief of staff Chris Delaney twice offered him a paid agriculture-advisor job if he gave up the seat. Bird walked August 25, saying Findlay yelled at her and hung up after she refused to vacate her riding. Richmond-Bridgeport MLA Teresa Wat left August 26 after a leaked leadership-campaign chat branded her “CCP” and a promised apology never came. Courtenay-Comox MLA Brennan Day left that afternoon, saying he had lost confidence in Findlay’s “judgment, conduct, ethical standards and those she has chosen to surround herself with.” Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman walked August 27, called Findlay “unelectable,” and invited other MLAs to sit Independent with him..Gasper’s August 22 resignation is separate. She vacated Abbotsford-Mission so Findlay, who still has no seat, could run the September 26 by-election Premier David Eby called Saturday.The Conservatives won 44 seats in 2024. After Warbus they are down to 31 sitting caucus members, not counting the vacant Abbotsford-Mission seat. Official opposition status depends on caucus size. The legislature is not sitting. When it returns, Warbus will sit outside the official opposition with Milobar, Paton, Bird, Wat, Day and Banman.She also named a second bleed that the earlier letters only implied. “It is not just sitting MLAs that have walked away but critical and talented members of our riding associations and staff that we rely on.” Findlay ordered the firing of caucus director of operations Apollo Chung on August 26. Party president Mauro Francis and vice-president Pavneet Singh later relieved Elaine Allan as executive director. Former campaign manager and executive director Angelo Isidorou left in July.Warbus framed the break as a duty to Chilliwack-Cultus Lake, not a search for a new banner. “As an MLA I am sworn to this office to represent my constituents, and the issues that they’ve repeatedly told me matter to them.”“In today’s uncertain times we need steady leadership more than ever,” she wrote. “On many issues as British Columbians we may be divided and we need someone who will bring more of us together.”She says Findlay is not that person. The meeting that was supposed to test that claim is now a month away, and one more name is already off the list.

BREAKING: Á'a:líya Warbus leaves Conservative caucus, citing postponed meeting and lost faith in Findlay

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