B.C. MLA Linda Hepner leaves Conservative caucus hours before leader resigns

B.C. MLA Linda Hepner leaves Conservative caucus hours before leader resigns

Hepner said she has lost confidence in the party leadership's willingness to listen

UPDATE — Sept. 20, 2026 2:00 p.m. PT: Kerry-Lynne Findlay has resigned as the leader of B.C.'s Conservative Party effective immediately.

Another Conservative MLA has resigned, joining 13 other MLAs the party has lost since August, amid growing calls for leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay to resign.

Linda Hepner, who serves in B.C's Surrey-Serpentine River riding and formerly served as Surrey's mayor, announced she has resigned from Conservative caucus "effective immediately."

“I’m feeling sad,” Hepner said in a Sunday interview. “I did not make this decision lightly and it’s taken a lot out of me.”

Hepner said she asked Findlay to resign on Saturday, and is now resigning herself in the absence of Findlay stepping down.

She described the party as "a distracting cacophony of voices that are not grounded in the everyday concerns of British Columbians."

The Conservative Party now has 24 remaining MLAs. It has lost 14, 11 of whom resigned and three who were kicked out.

Reann Gasper, one of the 11 MLAs who have resigned, stepped down to allow Findlay to run in her riding in a byelection.

Hepner said Findlay's decision to remove three MLAs — Trevor Halford, Claire Rattée and John Rustad — was the final straw for her.

"To me, it is beyond the pale of common sense to remove experienced voices rather than find a way to listen to them," her message to Findlay said.

B.C. Conservative Party loses 3 more MLAs

She highlighted Rustad, saying he built the party from a single elected member and "represents a deep connection to the grassroots of this party."

Hepner said she will continue to serve her constituents, and reiterated she considers herself a "centrist conservative."

"I believe conservatism is strongest when it is practical, reasonable and grounded — not when it becomes defined by ever-increasing division," her message reads.

Hepner said she does not plan to join any other party, including CentreBC — a party made up of eight former B.C. Conservative MLAs.

Michelle Gomez is a writer and reporter at CBC Vancouver. You can contact her at michelle.gomez@cbc.ca.