Richmond-Bridgeport MLA Teresa Wat is the latest MLA to leave the B.C. Conservative caucus over frustrations with leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay.
The four-term MLA said Wednesday she will sit as an Independent, making her the fourth MLA to leave the Conservative caucus in recent weeks.
Wat said she was leaving because Findlay had not apologized for comments allegedly made in a leaked group chat during the Conservative leadership campaign, suggesting Wat was affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party.
Wat described the comments as “distasteful” and said they made her question her place in the party.
She said she had a brief phone call with Findlay after media reports about the messages on July 29, but Findlay did not apologize. Wat said she was travelling at the time and initially wanted to put the matter behind her.
“When I recently returned home, I understood the full extent and reach of Ms. Findlay’s comments. I had many friends and individuals from the community reach out to me to say they do not believe these false allegations and were shocked no apology was issued. I realized that these allegations had caused real damage to my reputation and had created serious concern within the community,” she said.
Wat said she was told by Findlay and her chief of staff earlier this week that an apology would be issued, but no statement had been made as of Wednesday.
“I cannot continue to sit in a caucus led by someone who has questioned my loyalty without evidence and, when given the opportunity to correct the record, has failed to do so,” Wat said.
Findlay criticized Wat’s decision in a statement Wednesday and said she had tried to address her concerns in good faith.
“It is unfortunate that MLA Teresa Wat has decided to take this extraordinary measure. It is a betrayal of the hardworking volunteers, campaign workers and voters who helped get her elected as a CPBC MLA in the 2024 election,” Findlay said.
Findlay said she apologized to Wat directly during their July 29 phone call.
She said she considered the matter resolved after posting a statement on social media praising Wat and affirming the importance of building relationships with the Chinese Canadian community.
“Despite this, nearly a month later MLA Wat demanded a second statement of apology,” she said.
“On Monday, August 24, I prepared a statement addressing her concerns and she wrote that she was supportive of its contents. I was prepared to publicly address the matter in good faith. MLA Wat’s resignation post this morning was made without any prior communication to me.”
Wat did not immediately respond to Vista Radio’s request for further comment.
Findlay said in a separate statement Tuesday that the party remains focused on British Columbians despite the recent resignations.
“We intend to open nominations promptly in ridings where new opportunities exist,” she said. “We are already attracting strong, capable nominees who share our commitment and love their communities. Our door is open to those who want to build, not tear down.”
Wat was first elected to the legislature in 2013 as a B.C. Liberal and served as minister of international trade and minister responsible for the Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism. She was re-elected in 2017, 2020 and 2024.
She ran for the Conservatives in the 2024 provincial election and served as shadow minister for tourism, arts and culture and multiculturalism.
Wat’s departure came a day after Rosalyn Bird announced she was leaving the Conservative caucus. Peter Milobar and Ian Paton have also left and said they intend to start their own centre-right party.
Milobar and Paton have not yet announced an official name for their planned party, saying they are in the process of registering with Elections B.C.
With at least two sitting members, the new party would meet the threshold for official party status in the legislature.
Milobar said in an interview with Vista News Wednesday morning, before hearing about Wat’s departure, that the new party’s platform would focus on British Columbians’ key concerns.
“People sitting at the dinner table, what is their most pressing concerns that day? Likely affordability, likely health care and those types of issues, and that’s what we need: a party that’s willing to have those broader-based conversations in a way that the public is accepting of,” he said.
Milobar said Bird has not committed to joining him and Paton in the new party.
“Rosalyn and I get along very well and obviously she, like others, wants to see the final make-up of it and we’re working through all those processes,” he said.
