Tara Armstrong
Canadian politician
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Tara Armstrong MLA is a Canadian politician who has served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) representing the electoral district of Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream since 2024. Initially elected as a member of the Conservative Party,[1] she left the party in 2025 and co-founded the OneBC Party with MLA Dallas Brodie. She served as the House leader of OneBC until December 2025, when she left the party and has since sat in the Legislature as an Independent.[2]
Tara Armstrong | |
|---|---|
| House Leader of OneBC in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia | |
| In office June 9, 2025 – December 16, 2025 | |
| Leader | Dallas Brodie (interim) |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations | BC Conservative (until 2025) OneBC (2025) |
Early life and career
She has worked with her family's seniors transportation business, Driving Miss Daisy, before joining the Conservative Party as the party's Election Readiness Chair in 2023.[3][4] In March 2025, she left the Conservative Party to sit as an Independent,[5] after the MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena, Dallas Brodie, was ejected from the Conservative Party that labeled Brodie's comments offensive towards survivors of residential schools.[6][7][8][9]
On June 9, 2025, Armstrong and Brodie started a new party called OneBC.[10][2] In December 2025, Armstrong stated that she had lost confidence in Brodie's ability to serve as leader, leading to her removal as interim leader by OneBC's board of directors.[11]
On December 16, 2025, it was announced by Armstrong that OneBC was no longer represented as a political party in the legislature.[12] Five days later, the Board of Directors, inclusive of Armstrong, Executive Director Paul Ratchford, and Chief of Staff Tim Thielmann, voluntarily transferred control of the party over to Brodie and resigned their positions, reinstating her as interim leader.[13][14]
In December 2025, a recall campaign targeting Armstrong was announced, with the earliest possible filing date of April 20, 2026.[15] Organizer Wilbur Turner, a 2SLGBTQ+ advocate, cited her "divisive and destructive policies" as a reason for the recall petition.[15][16]
Political views
Healthcare
In November 2023, Armstrong criticized Canadian broadcaster Jody Vance for retweeting a Peter Hotez tweet urging people to get the influenza vaccine and COVID-19 boosters. Armstrong claimed that Hotez was a "total fraud" for not wanting to debate with vaccine skeptics and that he was "bought and paid for by big pharma".[17]
Trans people
In 2025, Armstrong introduced the Protecting Minors from Gender Transition Act as a private member's bill.[18] The bill proposed to ban puberty blockers, prevent the use of public funds for gender transition treatments, and allow patients to sue doctors for 25 years after receiving gender transition-related healthcare. The bill was defeated on first reading.[19]
On 13 February 2026, during the aftermath of the 2026 Tumbler Ridge shooting by a trans woman, Armstrong made several social media posts criticizing "transgender ideology" as "radicalizing youth, and unlocking violent impulses", as well as claiming that "[t]here is an epidemic of transgender violence spreading across the West".[20] Armstrong would later then introduce the Gender Ideology and Child Protection Act, deeming affirming trans youth to be child abuse, also defeated at first reading.[21]
On 26 February 2026, Armstrong tabled the Human Rights Code Repeal Act, which would abolish the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal and repeal the province's Human Rights Code.[22] The bill followed a tribunal decision ordering Barry Neufeld to pay $750,000 in damages to the BC Teachers' Federation and Chilliwack Teachers' Association over his comments about LGBTQ+ people.[22][23] The bill failed at first reading by a vote of 50 to 37, with the Conservative caucus voting in support.[22][24]
Indigenous sovereignty
In May 2025, following her departure from the Conservative caucus, Armstrong issued a joint statement with independent MLA Dallas Brodie characterizing Indigenous sovereignty as a "threat" to British Columbia. The statement argued that the province "cannot accommodate more than 200 sovereignties within its borders" and claimed that "unilateral assertions of sovereignty" were "deepening racial conflict."[25]
Armstrong and Brodie also referenced historical colonial policies, expressing a desire to follow the example of British Columbia's entry into Confederation in 1871, when the government did not recognize Aboriginal title.[25] The statement drew condemnation from the Penticton Indian Band, who demanded the resignation of both MLAs. The Band cited Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, emphasizing that Indigenous sovereignty is protected by Canadian and international law.[25]
Electoral history
| 2024 British Columbia general election: Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Tara Armstrong | 14,303 | 53.92 | +50.0 | $29,208.25 | |||
| New Democratic | Anna Warwick Sears | 9,350 | 35.25 | +4.6 | $25,889.99 | |||
| Independent | Kevin Kraft | 1,724 | 6.50 | – | $4,138.50 | |||
| Green | Andrew Rose | 1,151 | 4.34 | -10.5 | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 26,528 | 99.88 | – | $71,700.08 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 32 | 0.12 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 26,560 | 58.25 | – | |||||
| Registered voters | 45,598 | |||||||
| Conservative notional gain from BC United | Swing | N/A[n 1] | ||||||
| Source: Elections BC[26][27] | ||||||||
- Swing cannot be calculated as BC United did not run a candidate in this riding.