Kamloops MLA Peter Milobar announced his intention to join the BC Conservative Party on Sept. 3, 2024.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Now former BC United Kamloops MLA Peter Milobar spent no time considering running as an independent candidate after his party dropped out of the provincial election.

Peter Milobar told reporters Tuesday he had "several" conversations with BC Conservative leader John Rustad before he committed to joining the party, but he has reservations about some of its more extreme views.

"I'm not trying to hide from any of the things I've said in the past, because I haven't changed my views on a lot of that," he said at a news conference, Sept. 3, as he revealed his intention to run with Rustad's Conservatives.

He criticized Rustad's participation in a far-right conference last year where the leader rubbed elbows with people who have "extremist" views. In June, Milobar said he wouldn't cross the floor in order to stay true with his values.

"I had a decision to make. Although I don't agree, I'm not changing my values and my thought processes, so I obviously have some issues with some of the social policy sides of where some of the BC Conservative candidates are," Milobar said. "I also know that my experience can play an important role in how the BC Conservative Party forms in the coming years."

Milobar said he offers experience some of the new BC Conservative candidates don't have. Although he may need to make concessions to join a party he's previously criticized, he told reporters it was never in the cards to run as an independent after BC United folded.

"Running as an independent, especially in the Kamloops-Centre riding, would completely defeat the purpose of what just happened last Wednesday in terms of trying to have a cohesive voice to try to defeat the NDP," he said.

Despite differences on social policies, like SOGI123 which Milobar took no issue with despite Rustad's intention to abolish it, the Kamloops MLA said he will find agreement with Rustad even if there are differences on the "granular details" on issues like further privatizing healthcare.

Milobar has served as Kamloops-North Thompson MLA since 2017 and previously served as the city's mayor.

His announcement comes in the wake of the BC United Party's decision to back out of the 2024 election, leaving the right-wing vote to the BC Conservatives. It was a decision that came as a surprise to some MLAs last week as BC United leader Kevin Falcon jointly announced it the BC Conservative leader.

The BC United Party, formerly the BC Liberals, previously had Rustad within the caucus, too. He was ousted after casting doubt on climate science and the severity of climate change. Since joining and taking lead of the BC Conservatives, Rustad's party coxed other MLAs to cross the floor to the newly-legitimate second option for right-wing voters in BC. Rustad's party hadn't yet been tested in an election before bringing conservatives back into a coalition. 

Whether that coalition will hold after the 2024 election is yet to be seen and Milobar offered no assurances.

"I wish I could give you that guarantee, but I can't. All we can do is deal with the situation that's in front of it," he said. "We have one party that is the right-of-centre coalition now, 'coalition' being the key word. Just as I have concerns on some BC Conservative candidate policies or statements, they undoubtedly have some about mine, and that is the messy part about being an actual coalition that you're going to have those differences of opinion."

Now running in the newly-formed Kamloops Centre riding, the party moved Kamloops candidate Dennis Giesbrecht to run in Vernon to make way for Milobar.

Milobar's decision to join Rustad came on the same day as MLAs Ian Paton of Delta South and Trevor Halford of Surrey-White Rock also joined BC United.

Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone announced he would be stepping away from politics a day after Falcon dropped from the race, but he told reporters he had actually told the BC United leader a day before Falcon's press conference.

Since the announcement, other BC United MLAs have dropped out of the race like Jackie Tegart of the Fraser-Nicola riding. Other BC United MLAs have also crossed the floor to join the BC Conservatives, with some doing so in the months before their party dropped out, others after.

BC election day is Oct. 19.

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