New Conservative leader Findlay fills new leadership with loyalists

Elected leader of the B.C. Conservative Party Kerry-Lynne Findlay speaks during leadership election night in Vancouver, on Saturday, May 30, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

VICTORIA — New B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay has filled several roles on her leadership team with loyalists.

Findlay, who currently does not hold a seat in the legislature, has appointed Chilliwack-area MLA Heather Maahs as interim leader, while Sheldon Clare, a Prince George MLA, is the house leader for the Official Opposition.

Both endorsed Findlay during the leadership race, as did Kelowna-area MLA Macklin McCall, who will serve as whip.

She has also appointed lieutenants to cover regions in the Interior, Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, and two MLAs to look after stakeholder relations, including Brent Chapman, Findlay’s husband.

Findlay says in a statement that her new leadership team represents a unified force from all parts of B.C., tasked with holding the NDP government to account.

She says the Conservatives are building a “big tent party” where B.C. residents of all walks of life are welcome.

“The B.C. Conservative Caucus is more united than it has ever been and is ready to take on the NDP when the legislature resumes sitting in the fall, and form government after the next election,” she says.

Clare’s appointment to the role of house leader means that he is replacing A’a:liya Warbus, the party’s only Indigenous MLA.

Warbus, who is a member of the Sto:lo Nation and the daughter of former B.C. Lt.-Gov. Steven Lewis Point was first appointed to the role by former leader John Rustad.

This report by Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press, was first published June 29, 2026.