FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MAY 27, 2026, VANCOUVER, BC—British Columbia is currently witnessing a rare political phenomenon: the official launch of a recall petition against sitting MLA Dallas Brodie in Vancouver-Quilchena and efforts to get another one going against MLA Tara Armstrong in Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream.
While the bar for a successful recall in this province is notoriously high—requiring signatures from 40% of eligible voters—the mere fact that folks are trying reveals a profound crisis of trust. Both women were hand-picked, vetted candidates for the BC Conservative Party, and their subsequent descent into extremist rhetoric and legislative dysfunction serves as a stark warning about the judgment of the party that brought them to power.
The “Fool me once” proverb comes to mind when examining the records of these two representatives. If a political party cannot properly vet candidates for a general election, how can they be trusted with the keys to the province? The performance of Brodie and Armstrong suggests a fundamental failure of vetting that should give every voter pause.
Take, for example, Dallas Brodie, the MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena. Since her election as a BC Conservative in 2024, her tenure has been a “catalogue of fringe positions”. She has publicly questioned the graves at the Kamloops Residential School and called for removing SOGI anti-bullying programs from schools.
Perhaps most damning for her constituents is the reported lack of any meaningful presence at the legislature on local issues. Until very recently, she reportedly went 18 months without even bothering to maintain a functioning constituency office. When faced with a recall petition, she didn’t pivot to service, but claimed “reconciliation industry activists” were coming after her.
Then there is Tara Armstrong, the MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream. Her rhetoric has been described by colleagues as “disgusting” and “abhorrent”. On the floor of the B.C. Legislature, Armstrong invoked Nazi-inspired “blood and soil” rhetoric to describe Indigenous inherent rights, claiming the government viewed First Nations as “ethno-nationalist” heirs to the soil.
She has advocated for a statutory holiday to honour the anti-vax “freedom convoy”, used her platform to blame the tragic Tumbler Ridge mass shooting on “transgender ideology,” claiming it was “radicalizing youth,” and has even made false claims that First Nations practiced cannibalism prior to European settlement.
Armstrong’s legislative agenda is equally extreme. She attempted to repeal the B.C. Human Rights Code—the legislation that protects British Columbians from discrimination based on race, sex, gender, and disability. She has also introduced bills to ban land acknowledgments and restrict medical operations for transgender youth.
Despite these odious statements and the legislative chaos they have caused—including the formation and quick implosion of their “OneBC” party—BC Conservative Leadership candidate Yuri Fulmer is happy to bring such individuals back into the fold. This willingness to embrace extremism for the sake of political math is the opposite of informed leadership. It suggests that the “unhinged nature” of the party’s fringe is not a bug, but a feature.
British Columbians are increasingly feeling “politically homeless,” caught between a tired government and an extremist alternative. We deserve a “Smart Province” movement that prioritizes evidence over slogans and civility over “blood and soil” references.
The attempted recall campaigns in Vancouver-Quilchena and Kelowna are not just about two failing MLAs. They are a referendum on the credibility of the BC Conservative Party. If they fooled us once with these candidates, we must make sure they don’t get the chance to fool us twice. It is time to put people first and get our politics back on track by choosing the rational middle.
CentreBC, May 2026
