Earlier this week, the Conservative Party of British Columbia announced senior appointments to the Premier’s Office, and one of the names has created a bit of a stir online among some B.C. residents.
The Conservatives announced that Allie Blades is the new deputy chief of staff, Shane Mills is executive director of communications and issues management, and Angelo Isidorou was named principal secretary. Earlier, Dimitri Pantazopoulos was named chief of staff.
“Angelo, Allie, and Shane bring experience, good judgment and a strong understanding of what it takes to make government work. I’m confident they’ll help build a Premier’s Office that is focused on getting things done and delivering on the commitments we’ve made to British Columbians,” premier-designate Lorne Doerkson said in a statement to the media.
It was specifically Isidorou’s appointment that has left a sour taste in the mouths of some residents. After the appointment, several posts were made across various social media platforms, with hundreds of comments in response. The controversy dates back nearly a decade.
In 2021, The Tyee published an article showing Isidorou wearing a MAGA hat at a Trump event in Vancouver back in 2017. At the time of the article’s publication, Isidorou was the director of the NPA municipal party. Another accusation was that he put up a hand sign, which some have interpreted as a white power symbol.
Following the backlash in 2021, Isidorou resigned. As a result, as revealed by Business in Vancouver (BIV), Isidorou threatened legal action against the media, including The Tyee and Postmedia; however, it did not proceed as an actual lawsuit.
At the time of BIV’s 2021 article, Isidorou claimed he was just a “dumb 20-year-old” and was messing with people.
Jen St. Denis, a senior editor at The Tyee, also published an article about Isidorou’s rise as a right-wing power player in 2024, when he helped former leader of the B.C. Conservatives, John Rustad, rise to power, and nearly win the 2024 provincial election.
On X, Isidorou’s profile features a quote from CBC calling him “Nightmare fuel for progressives.”
Isidorou championed Pierre Poilievre for prime minister on X in 2025 and also made a post about defunding the CBC in 2023.
@angeloisidorou/X
Former B.C. Premier David Eby ran a campaign that was very focused on raising fears around U.S.-style politics and President Donald Trump. We all know how that ended.
What B.C. residents are saying in response
There have been several posts about Isidorou’s appointment on X, Facebook, and Reddit.
On X, someone wrote, “Doerkson may playact the moderate in British Columbia’s new government, but his people are anything but.”
On the Victoria, B.C., subreddit, someone posted a story about his appointment along with a picture of him wearing a MAGA hat from the 2017 rally.
BC Premier, Doerkson, appoints Angelo Isidorou (pictured) as Principal Secretary
by
u/caramelsundaye in
VictoriaBC
“Nothing says ‘putting British Columbians first’ quite like appointing a former People’s Party operative with a MAGA hat to one of the most influential jobs in the Premier’s Office,” someone wrote in response.
Isidorou worked briefly with the federal People’s Party of Canada (PPC) in 2019. The PPC was founded by former Conservative MP Maxime Bernier, and campaigned on right-wing populist policies, like abolishing the federal carbon tax. The PPC also wanted to lower immigration levels and end corporate welfare.
Someone else said, “I’m shocked that anyone is surprised with this. Seriously people, this is what we’re getting for the next four years. It’s going to be non-stop MAGA bullshit and far right virtue signaling here on out.”
Comment
by
u/caramelsundaye from discussionin
VictoriaBC
“What have we done…” another B.C. resident commented.
On the other hand, Isidorou has also seen some vocal support on social media, with some saying they’re glad to see him back, and others commending his experience.
Others called him a Canadian patriot, and some were forgiving of the MAGA incident because it happened in 2017.
Someone else said, “Looks handsome and smart!”
“Making [America] great will make Canada great, like it has since the inception of Canada,” one Redditor said.
Others suggested a hat is just a hat.
But are the concerns warranted?
We reached out to Aaron Hoffman, a professor with the Department of Political Science at SFU, to ask if some of the concerns from residents about the direction of the party, based on an appointment like this, are warranted. He suggested that predicting policies based on the affiliations of some members is “risky business.”
“The policies the B.C. Conservatives promised to pursue are a stronger indicator of their priorities than who the new premier selects to advise him,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman pointed out that during his campaign, Doerkson distanced himself from Trump and the MAGA movement.
“While he and the B.C. Conservatives could change course, the level of antipathy in B.C. for Trump and the MAGA movement makes any move toward Donald Trump difficult. There will be strong resistance from the public to Trump-friendly policies,” Hoffman added.
We reached out to the B.C. Conservatives for comment earlier this week, but did not hear back by the time of publication.