B.C. opposition finance critic Peter Milobar has announced he is sitting as an Independent, saying his values don’t align with the B.C. Conservatives under the leadership of Kerry-Lynne Findlay.

Milobar said on social media on Friday that Findlay had earned the right to lead the party as she saw fit but the disconnect between his views and the Conservatives’ “new direction” had become clear over the last few months.

“This isn’t the end of the conversation, it’s the start of one. I’ll have more to say soon,” he said.

The former contender for the party’s leadership is regarded as a moderate, while the party under Findlay has undergone a rightward shift that has involved major staffing changes.

Milobar said he would continue to serve residents in his riding of Kamloops Centre, but as an Independent, effective immediately.

He was first elected as a B.C. Liberal in 2017 after he served five consecutive terms as mayor of Kamloops, where he helped run his family’s business.

The legislator established himself as an expert on provincial finances and is among the most experienced MLAs in the legislature.

The ideological direction of the Conservatives shifted after the narrow victory for Findlay on the fourth ballot of the party’s leadership race in May.

Milobar was eliminated from the field early, before Findlay defeated Caroline Elliott with 51 per cent of the votes to Elliott’s 49 per cent.

Findlay is a former Conservative MP who has so far been unable to find a colleague to step aside to allow her to seek a place in the legislature.

Her husband Brent Chapman is among a cohort of MLAs elected in 2024, when the party under John Rustad came to the brink of power.

But since winning 44 seats in the election, the party has suffered a series of defections amid questions about its identity, with some splitting from its right flank, while others went to its left.

Findlay has said the party would focus on “faith, freedom and family” under her leadership. She was not available for an interview about Milobar’s departure.

Milobar clashed with Findlay during a leadership debate, when she accused him of having a conflict of interest because Milobar’s Indigenous wife once held paid positions with the local Indigenous band.

A new party, CentreBC, is seeking to capitalize on the identity questions surrounding the Conservatives, and has been branding itself as a “socially progressive, fiscally responsible choice,” capable of building a “broad coalition of builders and doers.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press