Peter Milobar, member of the B.C. Legislative Assembly for Kamloops Centre visited Revelstoke Monday, Feb. 1 as he campaigned to be the new leader for the Conservative Party of British Columbia.
The Conservative Party of B.C. launched its leadership race Friday, Jan. 16 after former leader John Rustad resigned Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. Milobar announced his bid for leadership the same day the race was called.
“There’s a lot at stake in this leadership race,” he told Revelstoke Mountaineer, explaining the party focus needs to be on showing the public what qualifications current caucus members have for leadership and attracting future candidates in preparation for the next provincial election.
“We have to demonstrate to the public that we do have a serious group of people that have a wide range of skill sets that are very transferable to governing versus opposition,” Milobar said.
With political roots as city councilor and mayor of Kamloops, Milobar started his provincial political career in 2017 in B.C. United, formerly B.C. Liberal party, as the Kamloops-North Thompson MLA. Milobar was announced as the Kamloops Centre candidate for the Conservative Party of B.C. Sept. 3, 2024 shortly after B.C. United leader Kevin Falcon suspended the party’s campaigning during the provincial election.
Before boundary changes during the 2024 election, Milobar’s riding stretched from Kamloops up to Avola. Like Columbia River-Revelstoke’s Scott McInnis, Milobar said he juggled how to stay connected with small communities across a large riding.
“It’s kind of a give a take, back and forth in terms of trying to get into that community and making sure that community knows you are alive to their issues.”
Many interior MLAs struggle with the same challenges, and Milobar explained he’d pull from his own experience to help them balance rural and urban needs and stay connected.
“It’s never for lack of wanting to be in community,” he said.
When it comes to provincial projects such as the Trans-Canada Highway twinning through Revelstoke, Milobar wants to provide clear direction and deliverables.
“It’s not that this government hasn’t been building infrastructure, but everything is behind schedule and over-budget,” he said.
Milobar pointed to his time as Kamloops mayor as evidence of his skills to keep projects on track and on-budget, including negotiating contracts with local firefighter services.
“We still needed to grow as a city, but we had to operate it in a way that is respectful of the tax dollars,” he said, noting that line of thinking carries over to the provincial scale.
Milobar also wants to see a clearer delegation between municipal, provincial and federal responsibilities, noting how often he’s seen provincially funded and created programs set up in municipalities only for the city to be left with the project once initial funding runs out.
“I have a lot of sympathy for cities that feel they still need to continue that programming even though they can’t afford it and it starts hammering at their property taxes.”
Who can vote for a provincial party leader?
Only registered party members can vote in party leadership races. Potential and current members have until Saturday, April 18 to be in good standings with the party in order to vote in the leadership election.
To be a member in good standings, a membership must be purchased, personal information sent in and verification requirements passed. Members in good standings will receive voting ballots for the online voting portal before Sunday, May 10 and the new leader will be announced Saturday, May 30 at the Conservative Party of B.C. leadership convention.
Provincial parties and federal parties are not the same, and membership with one doesn’t mean membership with the other, Milobar stressed.
“They are two independent things. People won’t get to vote unless they buy a B.C. Conservative membership,” he said.
You can sign up to become a Conservative Party of B.C. member through the conservativebc.ca/membership page. Memberships cost $25 for a four-year term and all membership fees are eligible for a tax credit.
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