Five remain in B.C. Conservative leadership race as membership swells to 42,000

The B.C. legislature is framed within trees in Victoria, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

VICTORIA — The B.C. Conservative Party has confirmed a final list of five candidates vying for its leadership, in a contest that has swollen the party’s membership to more than 42,000.

The party says in a statement that Iain Black, Caroline Elliott, Peter Milobar, Kerry-Lynne Findlay and Yuri Fulmer all paid a final fee of $60,000 to take part in the race to replace former leader John Rustad.

The statement also says the party’s membership roll increased about six-fold from 7,000 in December to 42,000 by the April 18 deadline to sign up new members in time to take part in the vote.

Executive director Angelo Isidorou says the party has “come incredibly far in just a few years,” going from a few hundred members to become what he calls the “largest political party” in B.C. by membership.

The party says ballots will be sent on May 9, and the party will be announce its new leader on May 30 at its leadership convention.

The candidates will take part in a debate on Friday in Vancouver.

Black is a former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister, Elliott is a political commentator, Milobar is a sitting MLA and his party’s finance critic, Kerry-Lynne Findlay is a former federal Conservative MP and minister, while Fulmer is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and current chancellor of Capilano University.

Fulmer’s campaign said on social media last week that it had sold 15,417 new memberships since Jan. 7.

The four other campaigns did not immediately respond to a request about their sign-ups.

Last year’s B.C. Greens’ leadership race that elected Emily Lowan saw 8,641 members cast ballots, while the B.C. NDP did not immediately respond to a request for comment about their membership numbers.

This report by Wolfgang Depner of The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2026.