Who’s Lining Up Behind BC Conservative Leadership Candidates?

A B.C. provincial flag hangs in front of the legislature building in Victoria on April 14, 2026. The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito

Explainer

Following last week’s $60,000 pay cut-off to remain in the campaign, five candidates are still competing to lead the B.C. Conservatives in a race that has had its share of clashes and controversies.

After Rossland-based contractor Warren Hamm withdrew ahead of the cut-off date last week, the remaining candidates are B.C. Conservative MLA Peter Milobar, political commentator Caroline Elliott, entrepreneur Yuri Fulmer, former B.C. Liberal Party cabinet minister Iain Black, and former federal Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay.

Polls from recent months point to some front-runners, but things could change by the time the winner of the race is announced on May 30. The party will distribute ballots for members to cast their votes by May 9.

Here’s a look at the endorsements different candidates have garnered so far.

B.C. Conservative MLA Peter Milobar comments on the provincial budget during a press conference at the legislature in Victoria on Feb. 17, 2026. The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito

Peter Milobar

Milobar has centred his messaging on fiscal responsibility, public safety, and rebuilding the party in the wake of the departure of former leader John Rustad. He has campaigned on presenting himself as an experienced leader who can bring the caucus together and govern with stability.

He is the only sitting MLA in the race and has gained the endorsement of BC Conservative MLAs Scott McInnis, Gavin Dew, Ward Stamer, Kiel Giddens, Brennan Day, Ian Paton, and Linda Hepner.

Milobar was first elected in 2017 as an MLA for the B.C. Liberal Party and was re-elected in 2020. The B.C. Liberal Party, the province’s previous dominant force in centre-right politics, was rebranded in 2023 as the B.C. United Party, which ran no candidates in the 2024 provincial election.

Milobar was mayor of Kamloops, B.C., from 2014 to 2017, and served as a city councillor.

Some of those who have endorsed Milobar—including McInnis, Dew, Paton, and Hepner—have roots in the former B.C. Liberal and B.C. United network.

B.C. Conservative Party candidate Caroline Elliott. winforbc.ca

Caroline Elliott

Political commentator Caroline Elliott has sought to position herself as an agent for change dedicated to pushing back against provincial government overreach, resisting far-left social ideologies, and giving members more say in future party priorities.

Elliott received an endorsement from prominent B.C. Conservative MLA Harman Bhangu, a key ally of B.C. MP Aaron Gunn, who was instrumental in bringing the B.C. Conservatives from the fringes to the official Opposition. Bhangu had initially run before dropping out to endorse Elliott.

B.C. Conservative MLA Kristina Loewen has also endorsed Elliott, as has investor and CBC Dragons’ Den star Brett Wilson.

Elliott has also been endorsed by former B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, who led the B.C. Liberal Party, forerunner to the B.C. United, which later merged into the B.C. Conservatives.

Elliott has roughly two decades of involvement with the B.C. Liberal Party and B.C. United, including a position as vice-president of the B.C. Liberal Party in the years leading up to the party’s rebranding in 2023. Elliott also served as a political staffer under Campbell in the 2000s, before running a consulting company focused on resource development and infrastructure projects.

Her campaign team includes a number of veteran federal Conservative campaign operatives with experience in Ontario provincial campaigns and federal elections, including Anthony Koch, Kory Teneycke, and Nick Kouvalis.

Yuri Fulmer, B.C. Conservative Party candidate for West Vancouver Sea-to-Sky, is photographed before the start of a press conference in Squamish, B.C., on Oct. 1, 2024. The Canadian Press/Tijana Martin

Yuri Fulmer

Businessman Yuri Fulmer has emphasized reducing regulatory burdens in B.C., making the province more attractive for investment and small businesses, and bringing the right together to defeat the governing NDP.

He has attracted a number of endorsements, including from MLA Bruce Banman, the first MLA to join the revived B.C. Conservatives under Rustad during its early growth in the summer of 2023.

Hamm also endorsed Fulmer after dropping out of the leadership race last week, as did OneBC Leader and MLA Dallas Brodie, who is pitching him as a candidate to “unite the right.”

Fulmer runs Vancouver-based investment firm Fulmer & Company, which operates in real estate development, private equity, and corporate consulting. Throughout his career, he has worked in investment and project development across the West and the Lower Mainland.

Then-B.C. Premier Christy Clark smiles as B.C. MLA Iain Black takes questions from the media after announcing he's stepping down, in Vancouver on Aug. 24, 2011. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Iain Black

Former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister Iain Black has centred his campaign on making B.C. more economically competitive and more effective in developing resources, and on building the B.C. Conservatives into a strong alternative to the governing NDP.

He has garnered the support of several political figures, including former Surrey mayor and federal Conservative MP Diane Watts and former federal Conservative MP and cabinet minister James Moore.

Black was MLA for Port Moody-Westchester and later Coquitlam-Port Moody from 2005 to 2013. He held several senior provincial cabinet roles under Campbell, including as government House leader and minister of small business, technology, and economic development. Following politics, Black moved into business, becoming CEO of the Vancouver Board of Trade from 2014 to 2022.

Then-Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay asks a question in the House of Commons of Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 7, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Kerry-Lynne Findlay

Former Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay has highlighted her support for law and order in the province, shielding parental rights from far-left progressive policies in education, and standing up for traditional, social conservative views within the party.

She has the backing of sitting MLA Tara Armstrong, who broke with Brodie and left OneBC in mid-December of last year. She also has the support of socially conservative provincial Tory Heather Mahs.

Findlay has several other MLAs in her corner, including independent Jordan Kealy and B.C. Conservative David Williams.

She is also backed by federal Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis, a social conservative, and former federal Conservative cabinet minister and former Progressive Conservative Leader Peter McKay, who is considered a Red Tory.

Findlay is the spouse of B.C. Conservative MLA Brent Chapman, who is on medical leave following a cancer diagnosis. Chapman is the oldest B.C. Conservative Party member within the caucus.

Controversies and Clashes

The home stretch of the B.C. Conservative leadership race has had its share of controversies and clashes between rivals.

Milobar’s campaign manager, Mark Werner, left his position on April 12 after findings from Elections BC and subsequent reporting about a 2024 website, firejohnrustad.ca, and related pamphlets that were sent out targeting then-B.C. Conservative Leader Rustad. The website was purported to have been created by discontented Conservatives, but Elections BC said the materials were linked to the B.C. United Party campaign and fined the party $4,500 for spreading a false statement to influence an election.

B.C. United paused its campaign and paved the way for the B.C. Conservatives to gain power ahead of the 2024 provincial election. Rustad said the mail-outs and website may have deflated the results of the 2024 election.

Werner was serving in a senior role with B.C. United during its aborted 2024 campaign.

Milobar has said he would never engage in such “political tactics,” and Werner has said he had no knowledge of the matter.

The tensions over Werner’s departure also ignited arguments between Elliott supporter Bhangu and Rustad. Rustad has accused Elliott and Werner of knowing what was going on and not being “credible” in their denials, noting that Elliott previously served as vice-president of B.C. United and is the sister-in-law of former B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon.

“You don’t spend that kind of money on a slick, professional hit job without the leader and the senior team knowing exactly what’s going on. Saying ‘I knew nothing’ is simply not credible,” Rustad posted April 14 on X.

Bhangu denied the accusations and noted Elliott stepped down as vice-president “well before” the materials were sent out and posted online.

Divisions in the race further came to a head in a debate hosted by Juno News earlier this month, after two candidates considered front-runners in several polls, Milobar and Elliott, did not attend. Milobar’s team said he had a scheduling conflict, while some rivals said candidates shouldn’t skip debates.