amelia boultbee's floor-crossing could give b.c. ndp ability to court centrist voters, say experts
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amelia boultbee in 2024.
the ndp received good news last week with the floor-crossing of independent penticton-summerland mla amelia boultbee, but experts say that what this means for the governing party’s electoral prospects remains unclear.
while some say the party could pick up more centrist voters who have been disaffected by new b.c. conservative leader kerry-lynne findlay’s shift to the right, others say it could leave the ndp vulnerable to some of their left-wing base moving to the greens.
here are four things to know about boultbee joining the ndp:
why did boultbee move to the ndp?
originally elected as a b.c. conservative in the 2024 election, boultbee left the party in october 2025 following the ejection of surrey-cloverdale mla elenore sturko by then-leader john rustad.
she said at the time that rustad had told her to leave if she wasn’t happy with his leadership, so that is what she did.
boultbee now says the conservatives are getting even more insular under rustad’s successor, findlay, and that she believes the ndp are on the right path to addressing some of the issues facing the province.
“the party i was first elected with was promised to me and many others as a big-tent party, but it gets smaller by the day. there’s a new leader more consumed with divisive donald trump-style populism than with things that actually matter to people,” said boultbee following her crossing, taking a shot at findlay.
“the reason for this move is because i want to be part of the solution. i know that i can do a much better job for my constituents, being with such a strong team and with this premier. there’s no trade, there’s no deal. i’m coming here because i want to be here.”
for his part, ndp premier david eby said he didn’t promise any position within government to boultbee and that she came over voluntarily. he praised her legal training and her community advocacy.
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how does this benefit the government?
aileen machell, eby’s former deputy chief of staff, says boultbee’s floor-crossing gives the ndp more breathing room in the legislature.
she also says it gives the ndp a toehold in the okanagan in a competitive seat, with boultbee narrowly defeating ndp candidate tina lee by less than 400 votes in the 2024 election.
“what this does is it gives premier eby and his team breathing room in the house as they prepare for legislation and the budget, and there’s no need for the speaker to break a tie,” she said.
david black, a royal roads political communications professor, said the move is a solid victory for eby and allows him to call a byelection if needed to replace vancouver-strathcona mla joan phillip or victoria-beacon hill mla grace lore, both of whom have been dealing with health problems.
he also said that it was clear boultbee wasn’t comfortable with the direction the conservatives were going under findlay and that she has strong feelings about some of her fellow independent mlas — including richmond centre’s hon chan and peace river north’s jordan kealy — who have both been charged with serious criminal offences in recent months.
“she was a centre-right member of a party that has moved to the right with the election of kerry-lynne findlay,” said black.
“this is an opportunity for the ndp to pivot to a more centre-left policy agenda and messaging, and boultbee just gives that definition in a way, because here’s somebody who felt comfortable enough, even as a conservative mla, formerly, to join the ndp.”
what is the reaction of the conservatives and other independents?
since they left the conservative caucus, boultbee and sturko have formed a solid team, getting the government to pass amendments to bills such as the one that made controversial changes to the freedom of information and protection of privacy act this spring.
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but sturko said she doesn’t support her colleague’s decision to join the ndp because she holds the government responsible for the province’s projected record deficit of $13.3 billion, as well as the constant emergency room closures that british columbians are having to deal with.
“she did phone me before the announcement was made, and let me know. i would say that i’ve enjoyed working together with her, we’re both independent,” she said. “but it’s not something that i can understand, because from my point of view, the ndp is not supportable.”
sturko said she is happy to sit as an independent for now and provide a voice for those voters who don’t feel like they can support either the ndp or the conservatives.
findlay asked why boultbee would join a “sinking ship”, adding that the conservatives will win back her seat.
what is the potential risk for the ndp
andrew reeve, former press secretary for the b.c. liberals and b.c. united, said that boultbee’s crossing gives the ndp an opportunity to court more centrist voters, but it could leave their left flank vulnerable to the greens if some of their base feel they are moving more toward the middle.
he also said that eby’s past reputation as an activist means that many voters still see him as fairly left-wing, even if, according to reeve, the premier has been relatively middle-of-the-road when it comes to his policies.
“as much as eby is making this pivot to try to make this argument, it’s going to need a pretty well-funded and effective communications campaign to go along with that, because so far, with the exception of eby’s lack of fiscal management, he has tried to govern more toward the centre, but that hasn’t done anything to change the perceptions of the ndp overall,” said reeve.
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