Party politics coming to Kelowna, Kamloops with new Conservative association

BC cities outside the Lower Mainland have tended to stay clear of party politics, but the provincial Conservatives appear ready to change that.

Kamloops and Kelowna are among the 15 cities where candidates under the Conservative Electors Association may appear on the ballot next year, an association registered by a BC Conservative Party staffer.

It is meant to operate separately from both the provincial and federal Conservative parties, according to the new association’s media release.

“While our organization is conservative, we are independent from other federal and provincial political parties. Our organization is solely focused on municipal issues and engagement at the local level,” the release reads.

There’s no name attached to the news release and it concluded by offering more information in the coming weeks, but Elections BC information shows it was registered by David Denhoff, a BC Conservative caucus policy director.

“The decision to formally register as an elector organization builds on the enormous momentum of the conservative movement in recent years. Proactively registering as an elector organization will protect the integrity of the Conservative name, ensuring clarity for British Columbians,” the release reads.

Denhoff’s X.com account lists him as a “former deputy director” for the party. He wouldn’t agree to an interview, but he responded to iNFOnews.ca in a text message to say he’s no longer on the BC Conservative Party payroll. 

A provincial party spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, but Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar said the announcement surprised him. He believed Denhoff still works within the caucus.

“I’m unaware of whether there’s been a change there whatsoever, and there’s lots of people who get involved federally, municipally and provincially. They might do all three, or they do one or two,” he said.

Milobar said he didn’t know about the new association until it was announced, and party leadership told him it’s not affiliated with the provincial party.

“I don’t necessarily see it as this automatically becomes a direct interconnection between the two, but obviously with the name ‘Conservative,’ it does create those types of questions,” the Kamloops MLA said.

Regardless of any direct or indirect connection with the provincial party, Elections BC has no rules barring affiliation between them, aside from campaign financing rules that would apply to provincial and municipal elections.

Milobar, a former Kamloops mayor, said party politics don’t get much traction in BC cities outside the Lower Mainland. 

It’s common for local candidates in Vancouver and some surrounding cities to attach themselves to a political party, but they don’t typically have direct affiliations with higher levels of government, with the notable exception of the Vancouver Green Party.

Local elections are more than a year away, so it’s too soon to know how many candidates will run for office under the Conservative flag in the cities where it’s currently registered. The new civic party is registered in 15 cities so far, but Denhoff said there’s an application to add more in the near future.

Aside from the two Thompson-Okanagan cities, Vancouver and Surrey are among the nine Lower Mainland cities where the party’s registered. Elections BC also lists Prince George, Fort St. John and Vanderhoof among the Interior cities and only Saanich on Vancouver Island.