Moments before NDP Premier David Eby is expected to call a snap election, Brent Chapman, former BC Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s husband, announced that he will be running for OneBC in the next provincial election.
Chapman was at the heart of Findlay’s decision to step down as leader for the party after unsubstantiated reports that members of the BC Conservative caucus were going to release a recording of Chapman if Findlay didn’t step down.
“I have been a member of the Conservative Party of BC for 15 years. When John Rustad personally asked me to run as a candidate, I took that seriously. I understood that I was being asked because I reflected the principles and values the party wanted to represent,” Chapman said in a statement released Tuesday.
“At the time, I was optimistic about what we were building. I believed the Conservative name meant something, and that the principles and values we put before British Columbians in 2024 gave the party a clear sense of purpose and direction.”
Chapman said that “over time”, it became clear to him that he did not share the same “understanding of those principles or of the platform” the party ran on.
“The disagreements within caucus, and increasingly in public, made that difficult to ignore. I chose to stay because I believed there was still value in working from within to defend the Conservative principles and platform we had put before British Columbians,” he said.
“I believed the party was still worth fighting for.”
He said the way many in the caucus responded to the democratic process of choosing a new leader for the party became a sticking point, making him wonder if he still believed in the BC Conservative brand.
“The last few months have also made this deeply personal for me. I have watched my wife, Kerry-Lynne, endure attacks from people she once stood beside.
“I have watched people determined to tear down someone who has spent decades serving her community, her province, and her country,” he said.
“At the same time, there are still good people in the Conservative Party of BC caucus I’m blessed to call friends. It has been a privilege to work alongside them. I am also incredibly grateful for the support I received from the entire caucus during my cancer treatments in 2025. I will not forget it.”
He said the decision to run under the OneBC banner was difficult.
“This is not the party I joined 15 years ago. It does not reflect the party we presented to British Columbians in 2024. I say that with sadness, not anger,” Chapman added. “I do not know exactly what the future holds, but I have to hold true to the principles that brought me here in the first place. I know that I cannot continue as part of this party.”
In a post on X, minutes after Chapman’s announcement, Dallas Brodie, the leader of OneBC, welcomed Chapman on board.
“We are honoured to have you. OneBC is growing, our membership is surging,” she said. “British Columbians want a party that acts with clarity and integrity.”
