Reflections on Vancouver, British Columbia and other topics, related or not

 

Revenge of the normies

MAGA trope dogwhistle narrative lady
challenged MLAs to take a stand. And so they did
—on their pay, perks and pension plans

Greg Klein | September 21, 2026

 

Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s downfall as B.C. Conservative leader and almost certainly as a by-election candidate sometimes seemed like a concerted campaign—the timing of the desertions, the nearly inexplicable alliance of former attorneys-general, the stupid actions that were sensationalized even though the offending staffers had already been fired, the almost relentlessly negative cross-Canada media coverage that verged on all-out hit pieces.

Other times it seemed like an in-house implosion—party in-fighting, disastrous hiring decisions, the stupidly unnecessary and potentially dangerous if laughable idea of hiring a private detective.

Overall the tawdry sequence demonstrated confusion and fear: the confused political incompetence of Findlay, and the frightened antics of more conventional politicians desperately clinging to the perks of office. To do so, they reasoned, they had to get rid of Findlay.

As for B.C.’s multi-faceted social decline, well, there are some things you just have to go along with.

 

Despite her shaky stance, Kerry-Lynne Findlay
scared the shit out of political careerists.

 

And what, by the way, is wrong with grooming schoolchildren for sex change procedures; offering tax-funded addiction inducements to a profoundly confused underclass; boosting the empire-building, fiscally ruinous (and NDP-empowering) expansion of B.C. Housing corruption; and transferring almost unlimited wealth, territory and political power to something like 4% of the population? All that’s perfectly normal, even if it’s new normal.

As Victoria Times Colonist expert Les Leyne put it: “Normies” led the B.C. Conservative rebellion. “MLAs exiting the party are middle-of-the-road politicians who don’t have extreme, controversial views.”

That was just one of many unthinkingly cheap remarks from all B.C. media, an Albertan columnist who doesn’t even understand Alberta, national outlets including the sometimes cautiously conservative but now gutless National Post and even, to the despair of non-woke non-conformists, Amy Hamm.

But look who’s walking. A pack of unaccomplished, inarticulate nonentities who likely have little more experience in productive work than the average fentanyl aficionado. Typical products of the last half-century of ideological weirdness, they’re also goofballs with philistine interests, sheltered social connections and greedily self-serving ambitions. They could never get such extravagant pay packages outside the underachievers’ legislative playpen.

These are people who need lots of direction from above, usually a controlling clique that might include a strong leader or a popular figurehead. They’re desperately, desperately searching for the messiah who’ll ensure continued manna from taxpayers. Good lord, will we get stuck with Christy Clark again?

 

Yet another peril threatens British Columbia.

 

The ousters and desertions go back farther than most commentators realize. The B.C. Liberals’ most senior cabinet ministers (including Kevin Falcon) deserted after Clark became party leader. Many years later Falcon returned, this time as leader, and ousted John Rustad from caucus, who then deserted the party and revived another, the B.C. Conservatives. Until the 2024 election, the Con caucus consisted entirely of desertions from B.C. United, the renamed B.C. Liberals still led by Falcon.

Con desertions then followed until the party ousted Rustad, by then a veteran ousteree. Findlay became leader. The desertions and ousters resumed. Now she’s stepped down as leader, effectively ousted but not quite deserted. She’s still a Con candidate in the September 26 Abbotsford-Mission by-election. Due maybe more to pack media influence than anything else, voters will likely oust her before she has a chance to desert.

Gloating on the sidelines is David Eby, until recently at risk of getting ousted himself. But if the various “centre-right” ouster/deserter parties come together before he calls his rumoured two-years-early election,* Ousted/Deserter United might oust the NDP, which might in turn oust Eby.

 

MLAs Peter Milobar and Donegal Wilson radiate the
intelligence and gravitas of B.C.’s political “centre.”

 

But, unlike destroy-normality NDP, ODU would stand for nothing, not even opposition to the destruction of normality. Emblematic of political class confusion is the deserters’ current CentreBC party. The pretense to occupying a “centre” point of view, let alone a “centre-right” perspective, ignores the fact that as the “left” becomes more perversely weird, the “centre” and “right” follow closely.

Getting back to the commentariat, they once again demonstrated that B.C. journalists transform directly from spoiled little girls to befuddled old ladies without ever having been sentient adults. Their Findlay hate verged on the derangement syndrome usually reserved for white men like Preston Manning and Rob Ford.

 

From spoiled little girls to befuddled old ladies, Black Press editor/political
analyst Jessica Durling and Times Colonist legislative correspondent
Les Leyne represent the spectrum of B.C. journalism.

 

But Findlay herself floundered all the way to failure, and not just in leadership. Backing away from inconveniently controversial culture wars, her by-election campaign stresses issues like government spending and the economy, on which all politicians feign concern.

No surprise, after 10 years as an MP under Harper and Poilievre. Oddly enough she first came to public prominence in the late 1990s as spokesperson for a group of non-native leaseholders hit by a—get this—7,366% rent increase levied by their landlord, the Musqueam “nation.” (That’s one of several dirty indigenous deals that should repel potential business partners, investors, home-buyers and renters.)

Yet all that time in parliament, preceded by five years on the Canadian Human Rights Commission, suggests a more expedient career strategy. It was her husband Brent Chapman, a Surrey South MLA since 2024, who was the controversial one. With repeated and profuse apologies he’s tried to desert his previous comments.

One of the Cons’ disastrous hires was some guy named Apollo Chung. But if he did say “white people are, like, crazy” he was, like, right. It’s mostly white British Columbians, Canadians and Westerners who’ve deserted normality and ousted their opponents. Even if Findlay really had been an anti-woke firebrand she’d never have had a hope against the Gleichschaltung’s new normies.

 

*September 22 updates: Eby called the election today, two years early and overlapping with B.C.’s municipal elections. Naturally he blamed Trump.

Chapman announced he’s deserting the Cons, even as his wife remains a Con candidate, to join OneBC.

Otherwise the Cons have reunited, as other deserters have undeserted and ousterees have been de-oustered. All they need now is a leader to guide them back to pay, perks and pension plans.