A list of prospective candidates, maybe candidates, and announced bids is starting to form as the race for Rustad’s throne kicks off. Whoever becomes the new leader of the B.C. Conservatives will have to glue the fragments of Rustad’s failures back together, bringing together a caucus that lost its leader and saw the resignation of five MLAs in under a year. Scott Lamb, former President of the Conservative Party of Canada and chair of the Leadership Election Organizing Committee, expects the committee to release race rules in the second or third week of January and have a new leader by the spring. 

Caroline Elliott

Caroline Elliott is a well-known political commentator and academic based in Vancouver with a PhD specializing in Indigenous policy within a democratic context from Simon Fraser University. Elliott has academic experience, serving as a professor of political science at Simon Fraser University and as a senior fellow at the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy. She currently serves on the board of the Public Land Use Society and is well known in the world of political commentary, having been published in outlets such as the National Post and The Hub, with a focus on private property rights amid the Cowichan claims and the NDP’s radical reconciliation agenda. 

Her two decades of both political and professional experience stem from her time working under the Premiership of Gordon Campbell and as a Policy Advisor to the Minister of Transportation while the BC Government embarked on large-scale critical infrastructure projects such as the Asia Pacific Gateway, the Sea to Sky highway expansion, and the Port Mann bridge. After which, she played key roles for BC infrastructure in the private sector, including her work on the BC Hydro Site C dam. More recently, she served as the Vice President of BC United until she ultimately played a key role in folding BC United to make way for the Conservative Party of British Columbia to become within striking distance of forming government.

Since then, Elliott has been engaged in Public advocacy and also co-founded an online opinion publication called Without Diminishment, which describes itself as the voice of Canada’s new right. She has publicly mentioned considering a bid in the race, though she has not officially announced her candidacy. There is a drive for Elliott to join the race, with a video garnering 119,000 views on X advocating for a possible campaign. 

Yuri Fulmer

Yuri Fulmer represents the establishment, business-friendly wing of the BC Conservatives. Vancouver businessman Fulmer has built a portfolio of fast-food and tech investments, as well as manufacturing investments. He is also involved in philanthropy as the chairman of United Way and as chancellor of Capilano University. 

In his leadership bid, he positioned himself as a unifying figure, with the ambition to make the party a broader coalition that can bring together conservatives and former BC Liberals, fixing the known fracture within the party between branches of members that joined under John Rustad and those from the B.C. Liberals. His political experience stems from his candidacy for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky in the 2024 election, where he lost to Green Party candidate Jeremy Valeriote. 

Right after declaring his bid for the leadership, he faced questions about his restaurant companies’ use of temporary foreign workers. Fulmer acknowledged that his restaurant operations have used the temporary foreign worker program, noting that of the 549 people employed by his subsidiary restaurant franchise company, 46 are TFWs. He characterized the use of TFWs as a “last resort,” and said that “Canadians have always had first priority.”

Warren Hamm

Warren Hamm is a contractor from Rossland with more than 30 years of construction experience and was the first candidate to officially announce their bid for the leadership following Rustad’s resignation. Hamm officially announced his bid for the leadership by saying, “we can’t keep recycling the same legal professionals and political-science lifers who create the very rules and barriers everyone is frustrated with. If we keep making the same choices and expect different results, nothing will change.”

Hamm has positioned himself as an outsider to the establishment as an advocate for practical conservatism with a focus on fiscal responsibility. Hamm’s platform focuses on restoring affordability, rebuilding confidence in government, strengthening regional economies, and returning common-sense leadership to the province.

Harman Bhangu

Harman Bhangu is the MLA for Abbotsford-Langley and has signalled that he will most likely run for the leadership. In late December, Bhangu had signalled that he wouldn’t enter if federal Conservative MP Aaron Gunn ran. Now, Aaron Gunn has decided not to run, and he says his entry into the race is contingent on the election’s rules. 

Bhangu is a former trucker who was elected to the legislature in 2024. Bhangu’s campaign priorities center on economic issues, leveraging his background in trucking to understand the challenges businesses face. 

Peter Milobar

Peter Milobar, MLA for Kamloop Centre, has stated he is seriously considering a run for the leadership. He was re-elected in October 2024 with 48.8% of the vote, defeating NDP candidate Kamal Drewal by 2,000 votes. Milobar previously represented Kamloops-North Thompson from 2017 to 2024 under the BC Liberal Party before crossing to the Conservatives. He currently serves as the Shadow Minister for Finance and has expressed his focus on fiscal responsibility and economic development. 

Before entering the Legislature, he served as Mayor of Kamloops for three terms and as chair of the Thompson Regional Hospital District for five terms. Milobar has stated that he believes it is time for the centre-right coalition “to get serious about coalescing as a group to make sure that the NDP doesn’t continue on in government.”

Darrell Jones

Darrell Jones, former president of the Pattison Food Group, says he is giving serious consideration to running for the leadership. His plan for the BC Conservatives is to apply lessons learned from BC billionaire Jimmy Pattison to politics. Jones has publicly positioned himself as an outsider, saying he’s not a politician but a businessman willing to enter politics. More specifically, he promotes the idea that the customer is the boss, putting the servant back in public servant. He has cited affordability, healthcare, public safety, and the economy as priorities for his campaign.

Chris Gardner

Chris Gardner has served as President and CEO of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) since 2019, leading the organization through a period of significant growth and recognition. Under his leadership, ICBA won the Reed Award, honouring North America’s best trade associations, in both 2019 and 2021. The ICBA now represents over 4,500 construction businesses and more than 300,000 employees across British Columbia. 

Gardner’s political experience includes serving as Principal Secretary to BC Premier Christy Clark from 2014 to 2015, and before his appointment, he had deep ties in Surrey municipal politics. His advocacy focuses heavily on energy and resource development. Gardner has publicly criticized Premier David Eby’s handling of energy policy, arguing that British Columbia should embrace a “Team Canada” approach to resources, working cooperatively with Alberta rather than in opposition.

Sheldon Clare

Sheldon Clare is the MLA for Prince George-North Cariboo, taking office in the 2024 election. Clare announced his candidacy in a phone interview with the Prince George Citizen, saying he is planning an official campaign launch in the coming weeks. He has not stated much on his platform for the leadership race, but has put an emphasis on bringing a northern resource-focused perspective to the party. In a leadership race that includes candidates with strong ties to business in the Lower Mainland, his candidacy offers the party something different.

Kerry-Lynne Findlay

Kerry-Lynne Findlay has officially launched her campaign for leader of the BC Conservatives. She is a former member of Parliament, who represented South Surrey–White Rock from 2019 to 2025 and Delta–Richmond East from 2011 to 2015. She held several key ministerial roles under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, including Associate Minister of National Defence and Minister of National Revenue. Right before leaving federal politics, she held positions in Pierre Poilievre’s opposition as his Whip and led his leadership team in British Columbia. Findlay has said she is “the only Conservative who can stop the Liberal takeover of the BC Conservatives.” An approach that contrasts with the big tent approach that many, like Yuri Fulmer, are taking towards the BC United merger.

Ryan Comeau is a contributor to TrendingPolitics.ca