OneBC loses candidate after weekend rift between Brodie & Armstrong
A OneBC candidate has announced he will no longer run for the party as it reels from the removal of interim leader Dallas Brodie by the party board.
A OneBC candidate has announced he will no longer run for the party as it reels from the removal of interim leader Dallas Brodie by the party board. This follows a public feud between the former party leader and the only other MLA, Tara Armstrong.
Mike Harris, who ran as a BC Conservative candidate in the 2024 election, announced he would no longer run for OneBC, calling the situation a “soap opera.”
“Hey folks, I just want you to know, I’ve been watching the OneBC situation and I’m out. I didn’t sign up for this soap opera. No hard feelings for the people. This is just not who I am,” said planned OneBC candidate Mike Harris in a Sunday X post, signalling his departure from the party.
OneBC’s board of directors ratified the removal of Dallas Brodie as party leader over the weekend, citing allegations of erratic behaviour and disputes over party assets. Brodie has denied the allegations.
This caps a chaotic 36-hour implosion that began with reports of senior staff firings and escalated into a public power struggle, according to a Sunday statement.
The announcement, dated Dec. 14, 2025, from OneBC press secretary Tim Thielmann, follows a special board resolution passed Saturday to remove Brodie.
The board alleged it has launched an external investigation into what it called unauthorized attempts to access sensitive data, the statement said.
Armstrong, OneBC’s house leader and MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream — the party’s only other elected member — said she has lost confidence in Brodie’s leadership.
The turmoil first erupted publicly just days before, marking a swift unraveling for OneBC. The party formed in June 2025 after Brodie and Armstrong split from the Conservative Party of B.C. under then-leader John Rustad.
On Friday evening, Keean Bexte of Juno News broke the news that OneBC leader Dallas Brodie had “fired her most senior staff members,” including board member and chief of staff Tim Thielmann, and had “tapped Wyatt Claypool as interim Chief of Staff.”
Hours later, at 12:40 p.m., OneBC interim executive director Paul Ratchford praised Thielmann on X, crediting him for the party’s documentary “Making a Killing,” which critiques reconciliation policies.
Armstrong amplified the post, signaling a caucus rift. The fracturing deepened when Armstrong announced she would no longer be caucusing with Brodie, and will be “writing to the Speaker to advise him of that.”
Brodie responded to the growing speculation later that night., posting an image of herself writing with the caption “Press on OneBC.” She acknowledged “a little turbulence” but insisted “the plane is still flying and we will be in beautiful calm skies shortly.”
The OneBC website was shortly thereafter updated to list Armstrong as the party’s leader, with all references to Brodie removed.
On Sunday, Claypool and others alleged the party rift stemmed from alleged meetings with the Conservative Party of B.C. and disagreements over the handling of junior staffer Othman Mekhloufi. Thielmann has denied the characterization and called it “false.”
With only two MLAs in the B.C. legislature, OneBC’s official status in the legislature hangs in the balance under the province’s rules requiring at least two sitting members for recognition.
Even through bad times, Liberals band together and lie - and subsequently prosper financially from their banding together. Conservatives on the other hand make public all squabbles and hand victory to Lieberals.
Wow that is really too bad that these people would not put the party and supporters first rather than a public squable. It seems this party will now self-destruct or become something that will never be able to challenge the NDP or BC Conservatives for seats. It's doubly bad as OneBC seemed to be the only party of comonsense and representation for all citizens not just Natives. SO it means there is no Party in the Province to support hard working non-native Families.. BC is done.