Saturday February 7, 2026 | VICTORIA, BC
Political analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
BC Conservative MLA Bruce Banman (Abbotsford South) has thrown his hat into the ring as a contender for the Conservative Party of BC’s leadership.
He has been an MLA since 2020 (formerly with the BC Liberal Party until that party changed its name to BC United in 2024).
There are now 10 contestants in the race to become the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (four of whom are currently MLAs): Bruce Banman, MLA | Iain Black | Sheldon Clare, MLA | Caroline Elliott | Kerry-Lynne Findlay | Yuri Fulmer | Warren Hamm | Darrell Jones | Steve Kooner, MLA | Peter Milobar, MLA.
All 10 contenders are based in the BC lower mainland; none hail from Vancouver Island.
Banman’s campaign announcement:
Banman announced his campaign this past week.
His campaign website has the theme of ‘Conservative without apology’. He lists his reasons for running, including “to put our Party’s house in order, put grassroots members in charge of Party affairs and position BC Conservatives for victory”.
He wants to see the BC Legislative Assembly repeal DRIPA (Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act). He wants to see reversal of the 2025 BC Supreme Court ruling that the Cowichan Nation holds Aboriginal land title to more than 5.7 kilometres of land on the Fraser River in Richmond.
Banman has been a vocal opponent of the SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) resource in schools; he wants “to put parents in charge of educating and rearing their children”.
Path to the legislature:
Banman is a former chiropractor who served as mayor of Abbotsford (2011-2014) and again on council but not as mayor (2018-2021).
He was first elected to the BC Legislative Assembly in the October 2020 provincial election, sitting as a BC Liberal (the BC United) MLA. He was re-elected in the October 2024 provincial election. He is currently the BC Conservatives caucus whip.
The BC Conservatives are the Official Opposition in the BC Legislative Assembly.
Housing protest:
Banman will make his official campaign announcement on Monday February 9 in front of the BC Housing building in Burnaby.
He has been invited to make a speech by two grassroots organizations: Let’s Vote (2018) and WeVote (2025). According to Banman’s media advisory today, residents in Burnaby are fighting against the government-supported supportive housing at 5389 Imperial Street and a drug-use shelter at 3020 Gilmore Diversion.
Banman challenged the BC NDP government’s work on supportive housing during question period in the BC Legislative Assembly on December 2, 2025.
BC Conservatives at the moment:
Former BC Conservative Leader John Rustad resigned in December. There are reasons to believe he was pushed out, and not for any sudden developments.
The interim leader of the BC Conservatives is MLA Trevor Halford.
Registered members of the Conservative Party of British Columbia can vote in the upcoming leadership election (voting from May 9 to 30, 2026).
===== RELATED:
- Former MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay joins BC Conservative leadership race (January 30, 2026)
- Darrell Jones becomes 7th contestant in BC Conservative leadership race (January 28, 2026)
- BC Conservative leadership race: Iain Black declares a strong start (January 24, 2026)
- Six contenders in BC Conservative leadership race toward May 30 (January 16, 2026)
- BC Conservative leadership race heats up (January 14, 2026)
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