Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee Joins the BC NDP
Boultbee’s switch gives the NDP 48 seats in the 93-seat legislature and ends the need for Speaker Raj Chouhan to break tie votes.
- On Friday, July 3, 2026, Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee joined the BC NDP, announcing the move alongside Premier David Eby in Victoria.
- Boultbee left the Conservative caucus in October 2025, citing the "unravelling" of Conservative Leader John Rustad and concerns about "divisive Trump-style populism."
- In the 2024 election, Boultbee narrowly defeated NDP candidate Tina Lee by 317 votes; the Conservative Party stripped her membership two months ago following a procedural vote.
- The party now holds a solid majority with 48 of the 93 legislative seats, eliminating the need for Speaker Raj Chouhan to cast tie-breaking votes.
- Her defection coincides with the Conservative Party's two-day caucus meeting wrapping up in Penticton, where newly elected Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay is addressing media.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Penticton-Summerland MLA Boultbee joins Eby’s B.C. NDP - Creston Valley Advance
The B.C. NDP has further secured its majority after the surprise addition of Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee, a former Conservative who until now sat as an Independent. Boultbee says that since leaving the Conservative Party, she has collaborated more and more with the NDP caucus, while watching her former party be “consumed with divisive Donald Trump-style populism.” “What was promised to me and many others as a big tent party gets sma…
Winnipeg Free Press
iPoliticsFormer B.C. Conservative Boultbee crosses to NDP, calling out 'Trump-style populism'
VICTORIA - Former Conservative member of the British Columbia legislature Amelia Boultbee, who left the caucus to sit as an Independent, is now a member of the governing New Democrats.
Penticton-Summerland MLA Boultbee joins Eby’s B.C. NDP - Fort St. James Caledonia Courier
The B.C. NDP have further secured their majority after the surprise addition of Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee, an Independent and former B.C. Conservative. The move comes less than two months after the B.C. Conservative Party stripped Boultbee of her party membership, following her vote to send a BC NDP bill on Freedom of Information requests to the committee stage for review and debate. The announcement of Boultbee joining the NDP al…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 80% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
