VICTORIA — Candidates for the B.C. Conservative leadership wasted no time getting rough with each other in their first full leadership debate last week. The 90-minute event, hosted by the Canada Strong and Free Network at a Vancouver hotel on Friday, April 24, 2026, featured sharp exchanges and personal attacks, particularly among Yuri Fulmer, Caroline Elliott, and Kerry-Lynne Findlay, while frontrunners John Rustad and Ellis Ross remained largely unscathed.
Early Attacks on Fulmer
Caroline Elliott, a commentator and former political staffer, launched an early attack on Yuri Fulmer, owner of several A&W fast food franchises and chancellor of Capilano University. She accused him of embracing militant decolonialization rhetoric and branding non-Indigenous British Columbians as “guilty settlers on stolen land.” Her campaign posted a video with examples of Fulmer's statements. Fulmer defended his comments as the “practical reality” of doing business and serving as chancellor under the B.C. NDP government.
Fulmer Fires Back
Fulmer gave back as good as he got, blasting Elliott for denouncing socially conservative views as “abhorrent.” She tried to deny using the word, but the Fulmer campaign posted a video confirming she said it during the 2020 controversy over then B.C. Liberal MLA Laurie Throness, who had made critical comments against SOGI-123, the sexual orientation and gender identity resource in B.C. schools. Elliott attempted to recover by referring to her Catholic upbringing, declaring that “Christian values belong in our party.” Later, she praised J.K. Rowling, the Harry Potter author and critic of gender identity politics, as “a bad-assed champion of women’s rights.”
Findlay Joins the Fray
Kerry-Lynne Findlay, a former federal Conservative MP, got one of the crowd-pleasing lines of the night in response to a social media post where Elliott promoted hiring British Columbians. “I guess that doesn’t apply to your campaign team,” said Findlay, riffing on Elliott’s recruitment of Ontarian Kory Teneycke and other Easterners. Elliott then lashed out at Findlay over the 2021 parliamentary vote that recognized residential schools as “genocidal” after the Kamloops graves controversy. “You whipped your party to vote for the lie that Canada is a genocidal state,” charged Elliott. Findlay fired back that she was not the party whip at the time.
Findlay Questions Fulmer's Deal
Findlay also went after Fulmer over the “unite the right” deal he struck with OneBC Leader Dallas Brodie. In return for Brodie agreeing not to run candidates in most of the province’s 93 ridings, Fulmer would leave five seats clear for OneBC. Findlay questioned the wisdom of conceding five seats in advance in a typically close B.C. election, wondering how the five would be chosen, and said the deal reflects “lack of experience” in the political arena. This from a 10-year veteran of the Canadian Parliament. Findlay boasted that she had lined up the most endorsements from sitting MLAs, including independent MLA Tara Armstrong from Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream.
Overall, the debate showcased deep divisions within the party, with candidates trading barbs over ideology, strategy, and past statements. Despite the heated exchanges, frontrunners John Rustad and Ellis Ross remained largely above the fray, focusing on broader policy issues.
