Kerry-Lynne Findlay

Federal politics (2011–2025)

She was named the Conservative Party's candidate for Delta—Richmond East in March 2011,^[6] and won the seat in that year's federal election.^[5] During the 41st Parliament, she served as member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights,^[5] and sat on a selection panel to help choose a replacement for Marie Deschamps of Quebec, who retired as puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.^[7] She was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice in May 2011,^[5] and as Associate Minister of National Defence on February 22, 2013.^[8] She then served as the Minister of National Revenue from July 15, 2013, until November 4, 2015.^[9]

She contested the reconstituted riding of Delta in the 2015 election, but lost to Liberal candidate Carla Qualtrough.^[10] She then ran for the Conservatives in the 2017 South Surrey—White Rock by-election,^[11] but was defeated by the Liberal's Gordie Hogg, taking 42.1% of the vote to Hogg's 47.5%.^[12]

In a re-match at the 2019 election, Findlay unseated Hogg by taking 42.6% of the vote.^[13] She served as shadow minister for Environment and Climate Change from November 2019 to September 2020.^[5] She received backlash in August 2020 after retweeting another user's Twitter post trying to connect Chrystia Freeland with George Soros.^[14] She voted in support of Bill C-233 – an act to amend the Criminal Code (sex-selective abortion), which would make it an indictable or a summary offence for a medical practitioner to knowingly perform an abortion solely on the grounds of the child's genetic sex.^[15]

She was re-elected in 2021 by defeating Gordie Hogg again,^[16] and served as shadow minister for National Defence from November 2021 to October 2022.^[5] Following Erin O'Toole's ousting as Conservative leader in February 2022, Findlay announced her intention to run for interim party leader;^[17] Candice Bergen was ultimately chosen for the role.^[18] On September 13, 2022, Findlay was named Chief Opposition Whip by Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre,^[19] becoming the first woman to serve in this role for the Conservatives.^[20]

She lost re-election in the 2025 election. Some observers attributed her loss to comments made by her husband Brent Chapman, who is the MLA for Surrey South.^[21] In May 2026, the federal election watchdog announced Findlay was under investigation over expenses for her failed re-election bid.^[22] Elections Canada alleges Findlay received $75,000 in undeclared and unpaid services from a corporation in exchange for promised federal contracts.^[23][22] They further suggest that approximately 50 individuals described as foreign nationals without legal status, canvassed on behalf of Findlay. In response, Findlay threatened legal action against the media for publishing any story mentioning these allegations.^[22]

Municipal politics (2025–2026)

On September 17, 2025, Findlay became the advisory board chair of the Conservative Electors Association, a newly formed municipal party in British Columbia.^[24] Her role was to help with candidate recruitment and policy development.^[25]

In February 2026, Findlay was involved in a launch event for the Conservative Electors Association, where they announced the slate of candidates for the 2026 Surrey municipal election.^[26]

Leader of the BC Conservatives (2026–present)

On May 30, 2026, Findlay was elected leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia with 51% of the vote. She took over from interim leader Trevor Halford following the resignation of John Rustad in December 2025.^[27]

During the leadership campaign Findlay faced criticism within her own party for saying fellow leadership candidate Peter Milobar had a conflict of interest when it comes to reconciliation because his wife is Indigenous.^[28][29] In response Milobar called Findlay's attacks "the worst side of politics possible,” suggesting her victory would “give a lot of British Columbians pause for thought of whether they would actually vote for a party like this.” He would later leave the party in August 2026.^[29] Findlay has also received criticism from former Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko, who called her "radical on the right wing," saying she’s been copied on several emails from B.C. Conservative members cancelling their memberships.^[29] Former BC United MLA Karin Kirkpatrick called Findlay's victory "very, very bad for the Conservative party."^[30][29] On June 29, she conducted a shadow cabinet reshuffle, appointing MLA Heather Maahs as leader of the Opposition. On July 3, 2026, former BC Conservative MLA Amelia Boultbee crossed the floor to join the governing BC NDP caucus, citing a shift toward "Trump-style populism" under new BC Conservative leader Findlay as the reason she would not be returning to its caucus.^[31]

Findlay received criticism in July 2026 after her senior staff and MLAs were allegedly directed to no longer use the term "First Nations", but instead to use terms like "Indian".^[32] Although "Indian" is generally regarded as an archaic and offensive term, Findlay allegedly argued that its appearance in legal and official documents such as the federal Indian Act justified its use.^[32] Findlay denied that such a directive was given.^[33] In response to the allegations, former Premier of British Columbia Christy Clark called Findlay "kooky" and said Findlay "cannot win an election."^{[relevant?][32][34]}

In August 2026, Ian Paton accusing Findlay of offering him a paid job with an MLA's salary if he resigned his seat for her.^[35] Similarly, Rosalyn Bird said that when she refused to resign to allow Findlay to run in her riding she threw a "tantrum," writing "she yelled at me, told me I was being selfish, told me this was about a bigger picture, then she hung up. The conversation was less than a minute."^[36] On August 23rd, 2026 Reann Gasper announced that she would step down as MLA of Abbotsford-Mission and allow party leader Findlay to run for her seat in a by-election.^[37] Gasper was promptly hired as Findlay’s deputy chief of staff.^[36] Offering an inducement in return for a politician’s resignation is a criminal offence.^[38]

In August and September 2026, nine Conservative MLAs resigned from the party, criticizing Findlay's leadership.^[39] Richmond-Bridgeport MLA Teresa Wat claims Findlay made “unfounded accusations about me, including remarks that called my allegiance to Canada into question,” stating she "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.”^[40] Courtenay-Comox MLA Brennan Day issued a statement criticizing Findlay's leadership, writing "I have lost confidence in the judgement, conduct, and ethical standards of her leadership and those she has chosen to surround herself with."^[41] Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman, the first MLA to cross the floor and join John Rustad as a Conservative, wrote "person after person has informed me they have decided that our new leader is unelectable," instead he is "joining an ever increasing number of MLAs to sit as an independent MLA in the BC Legislature".^[42] Banman also wrote he "would encourage my fellow MLAs regardless of political affiliation to join me."^[42] Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson cited Findlay's hiring of "Alberta separatist[s]" as the reason for her resignation, along with Findlay's inability to "bring Conservatives back together.”^[43] MLAs Ian Paton of Delta-South, Peter Milobar of Kamloops Centre, Rosalyn Bird of Prince George-Valemount, Áʼa꞉líya Warbus of Chilliwack-Cultus Lake, and Scott McInnes of Columbia River-Revelstoke also announced their resignation from the party.^{[44][45][46][47]} Milobar and Paton further announced their intention to create a new party.

Since July 2026, multiple staffers have also resigned from the party, including former executive director Angelo Isidorou, former party president Aisha Estey and former vice-president Sharon White.^{[48][49][50][49][51]} These positions have been replaced by many controversial figures, including Apollo Chung, a former member of the separatist Republican Party of Alberta, and Chris Delaney, notable for his ties to former British Columbia Premier Bill Vander Zalm.^[49]

Economic issues

She has strongly opposed carbon pricing and, as an opposition MP, argued that the federal carbon price increased household costs; she called for its abolition, making opposition to carbon taxation a prominent component of her economic and environmental politics.^[59] As leader of the BC Conservative Party, she has pledged to fight for the restoration of marine finfish farming licenses and oppose any federal government intervention on the issue.^[60]

Indigenous rights

Findlay has also made opposition to Indigenous rights, including the repeal of DRIPA, core to her platform while campaigning for leadership of the BC Conservative Party. She accused leadership rival Peter Milobar of having a conflict of interest in how he handled opposition to the legislation because his wife and other family members were Indigenous, which led to accusations of racism. In her acceptance speech as leader, she doubled down, stressing “The NDP’s radical ideology has devastated property rights, backroom-signed treaties, and the NDP’s economic vandalism has to end.”^[53]

Findlay and her staff were also alleged to have issued guidance to several caucus members and their staffers that they were to use the terms Indigenous, Aboriginal or Indian instead of First Nations. Her office was said to have cited the federal Indian Act as justification for using this term.^[61] When questioned by Black Press, she denied the allegations, claiming “It’s simply not true. There was no directive, nothing like that.”^[62]

LGBTQI+ rights

Findlay has voted in favour of legislation that would have criminalized sex-selective abortion. At the same time, her federal voting record included support for legislation protecting gender identity and expression under Canadian human rights and criminal law.^[63] In 2021, she stated that she opposed coercive conversion therapy. Still, she criticized Bill C-6 because its definition was, in her view, too broad and insufficiently precise.^[64]

While campaigning for leadership of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, she promised to end provincial sexual orientation and gender identity inclusive (SOGI) education.^[53]