Elenore Sturko resigns as CentreBC leader and leaves partisan politics | Daily Hive

Elenore Sturko resigns as CentreBC party leader and leaves partisan politics

Elenore Sturko. (CentreBC)

Elenore Sturko announced today she is stepping down as leader of the CentreBC provincial party and leaving partisan politics, putting the new provincial party through another change at the top following its unsuccessful October 2026 provincial election campaign.

Despite its centrist positioning on the political spectrum, the party was unable to win any seats, winning just 28,482 votes or 1.63 per cent of the overall number of votes — coming fourth behind the Green Party of British Columbia’s 216,808 votes.

Sturko lost her South Surrey riding race with 2,178 votes — well behind the 4,901 votes of the BC NDP’s Parik Tahlan and the 13,479 votes of the Conservative’s Megan Knight, who had just departed from her role as White Rock’s mayor.

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“Serving British Columbians has been an extraordinary privilege and I remain deeply committed to public service. However, I believe my next chapter is best pursued outside partisan politics,” said Sturko in a statement.

Her announcement did not identify a new role or provide details about her future plans.

“The sacrifices my family has made to support my public service have been significant. Their patience, encouragement and love have carried me through some very challenging times. I could not have done this without them, and I am profoundly grateful,” continued Sturko.

Previously a longtime RCMP officer, Sturko first entered office in Surrey South’s 2022 provincial by-election, winning the MLA seat for the BC Liberals (BC United).

Sturko was again elected in the October 2024 provincial general election under the Conservatives in the riding of Surrey-Cloverdale. She was kicked out of the Conservative party in September 2025, and subsequently became an independent MLA.

Following Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s resignation in September 2026 from her role as the leader of the Conservative party, CentreBC leader Peter Milobar returned to the Conservatives to rebuild the official opposition party ahead of the October 2026 provincial general election. Milobar was CentreBC’s leader for about 72 hours, before returning to the Conservatives after Findlay’s departure.

Just two days before Findlay’s resignation, Sturko joined CentreBC. She subsequently became the party’s leader for the snap provincial election called by the BC NDP.

The future of CentreBC appears to be uncertain.

CentreBC was founded in Spring 2025 by former West Vancouver-Capilano MLA Karin Kirkpatrick, who was previously with BC United. She served as the party’s interim inaugural party leader, until Mike Bernier briefly replaced her in Summer 2026. Bernier stepped aside on Sept. 18 to enable Milobar to take on the role of party leader. A handful of CentreBC MLAs who had recently left the Conservatives under Findlay returned to the party after her resignation.

In a separate statement today addressing questions about its frequent leadership changes, CentreBC outlined how four people had held the position.

The party attributed most of its leadership turnover to the choices of the people involved and the circumstances surrounding those decisions.

It acknowledged that the repeated changes could raise questions, while maintaining that the reasons for each departure needed to be considered separately.

“These leadership changes were largely the result of individual decisions and extraordinary circumstances, rather than internal party disputes. We understand how the number of changes may appear from the outside, but the circumstances behind each one matter,” reads CentreBC’s statement.

“Our Executive has remained committed throughout these transitions and continues to focus on strengthening CentreBC, providing stability and establishing a clear direction for the future.”

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