OneBC says former B.C. Conservative legislator Brent Chapman and his wife, former party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, have faced a wave of threats and abuse from political insiders amid months of turmoil within the provincial conservative movement.
Chapman announced last month that he was joining OneBC and planned to run for the party in Surrey South in the Oct. 24 provincial election. His decision came after Findlay resigned as leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia following a caucus revolt.
However, Chapman was absent from the final candidate list released by Elections BC on Sunday. OneBC later confirmed that Chapman and the party had mutually agreed that he would not contest the Surrey South riding.
In a statement, OneBC said it had been pleased to welcome Chapman to the party but acknowledged that the political turmoil of recent months had placed considerable strain on him and his family.
The party said Chapman and Findlay had endured what it described as a “torrent of threats and abuse from insiders.”
Findlay stepped down as Conservative leader just days before NDP Leader David Eby called a snap provincial election. Her departure followed weeks of internal divisions and defections within the party and came less than four months after she had won the Conservative leadership.
OneBC also used its statement to criticize the current leadership of the B.C. Conservatives, claiming that “strong conservative values” were no longer acceptable to those leading the party.
The party said Chapman’s decision to withdraw reflected concerns for his family and personal security, adding that while politics remains important, the safety and well-being of family must come first.
OneBC emerged as a breakaway group from the B.C. Conservatives after the Conservatives narrowly missed forming government in the previous provincial election.
Interim OneBC Leader Dallas Brodie, herself a former Conservative legislator, is seeking re-election in her riding in the Oct. 24 vote.
The party, however, did not have the two members required to receive official status in the legislature when the election was called. Although Chapman had joined OneBC, he had not formally notified the Speaker or clerk’s office of the change before the legislature was dissolved.
