Elenore Sturko Leads CentreBC After Mass Defection to Conservatives

MLA Elenore Sturko was named leader of CentreBC on September 22, 2026, following a mass departure of seven other sitting MLAs. These legislators, including Peter Milobar, rejoined the BC Conservatives after an offer from interim leader Lorne Doerkson. Sturko, a former RCMP officer, declined to return to the Conservatives, citing a refusal to compromise her values and criticizing the party's past support for legislation she claims would destroy the Human Rights Code.

Sturko is now the sole incumbent legislator remaining with the party, which was originally formed in March 2025 by Karin Kirkpatrick. To strengthen the party's profile for the upcoming snap election called by NDP Leader David Eby for October 24, CentreBC recruited former BC Green leader Andrew Weaver to run in the Oak Bay-Gordon Head riding. Sturko announced she will run in the Surrey South riding, a seat she previously won in a 2022 byelection.

Positioning CentreBC as a stable alternative to the BC NDP and the BC Conservatives, Sturko criticized the timing of the election as insulting given the government's $13.8 billion deficit. While CentreBC attempts to build its candidate slate, other political shifts continue, including former Conservative MLA Brent Chapman leaving his party to join the OneBC Party.