Then-independent B.C. MLA Amelia Boultbee speaks outside the legislature in Victoria, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Wolfgang Depner

By The Canadian Press

B.C. Conservative turned New Democrat, Boultbee, won’t run for re-election

Sep 29, 2026 | 1:00 AM

VICTORIA — A high-profile legislator who says she was “threatened, spat at, disowned, and abused” for crossing the floor to the British Columbia NDP this summer won’t be running again in the provincial election.

Amelia Boultbee, who was first elected as a B.C. Conservative, says in a statement she can’t marshal the necessary resources to give the B.C. New Democrats a “fair shot” in her Penticton-Summerland riding.

Boultbee says she’s stepping aside “to make way for a more winnable candidate” in the Oct. 24 election.

The legislator from B.C.’s southern interior was first elected in October 2024 as a Conservative, only to leave that party a year later over ideological disagreements to sit as an Independent, before joining the New Democrats in July.

Boultbee’s move boosted the NDP caucus to 48 members, increasing Premier David Eby’s parliamentary majority to two seats, but it also drew criticism from her constituents.

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She says in her statement that crossing the floor was incredibly difficult and carried considerable consequences, personally, professionally and politically.

“I have been threatened, spat at, disowned and abused in ways both public and private,” she said.

She says her primary reason for crossing the floor was to “join a credible and stable party,” something the B.C. Conservative Party lacked.

“I’m confident that I did the right thing for the right reasons when I made that decision,” she says.

“Not only that, but I was able to marshal the better resources for my community during the Bald Range wildfire, because I was able to access the deep bench of seasoned staff available to me through the (B.C. New Democrats).”

Thousands of people were forced to evacuate from Summerland and surrounding communities in August as the fast-moving fire raced through the area.

She is the sixth member of the governing NDP caucus to announce that she won’t run in the election, following announcements by Lana Popham, Ravi Kahlon, Kelly Greene, Brenda Bailey and George Chow.

Boultbee says she would have liked to continue as legislator, but “politics is hard and it’s not always fair” in framing her decision as a necessary move in the current political climate.

She says her decision to step down is about “ensuring this community and province are protected from the kind of right-wing, Trump-style populism and grave dysfunction on full display” among the Conservatives.

“My full confidence continues to rest with Premier Eby and his caucus,” she says.

“While the economic policies need work, this is being done and can be done. It’s fixable.

“The problems with the B.C. Conservatives are not fixable, maybe not ever and certainly not on the timeline British Columbia needs.”

B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay quit just days before David Eby called an election after more than a dozen of her caucus members left, citing her leadership.

Lorne Doerkson took over the job as interim leader of the party.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press