Former B.C. Conservatives candidate suing party over her removal

A former B.C. Conservative Party candidate is suing the party over her removal from the race to represent the riding of Kelowna-Mission in the upcoming provincial election. 

Alexandra Wright has launched a civil suit alleging, among other claims, the party breached their contract by removing her from the running, and defamed her by saying she was corrupt and not campaigning professionally and diligently.

"'I have now lost a political career, in my eyes. People look at me differently," Wright told CBC News. "They think that I've done something unethical ... So my reputation has been dragged through the mud now."

Wright is seeking more than $800,000 in damages, and wants the party to retract their statements about her termination. The B.C. Supreme Court stamped the claim on Wednesday, but Wright's allegations have not yet been proven in court. 

B.C. Conservatives executive director Angelo Isidorou told CBC News the party has not yet been served with court documents and cannot comment at this time. 

The party has appointed Gavin Dew, who ran for the B.C. Liberals leadership in 2022, as its candidate for Kelowna-Mission.

According to the claim documents, in July, Wright had several conversations with party leadership that led her to believe the party was confident in her ability to represent the riding. 

Wright also says in the claim that in July, B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad offered her $20,000 to instead run as a candidate in the nearby Vernon-Lumby riding.

The court documents also say in March, Wright held a community meeting at her barn in the Kelowna-area community of Ellison to discuss concerns that local company Sandher Fruit Packers was allegedly discharging contaminants into a culvert.

Isidorou allegedly called Wright on Aug. 8 and told her she was being removed as party candidate for "conduct violations surrounding discipline," performance concerns and conflict with the fruit-packing industry.  

Peter Fassbender, a spokesperson for Sandher Fruit Packers and a former B.C. Liberal Party MLA, told CBC News the company had nothing to do with the B.C. Conservatives' decision to remove Wright. 

"I can assure her and everyone else that Sandher Fruit Packers had no influence on the party to make that decision," Fassbender said. 

Fassbender also says Wright's claims about Sandher Fruit Packers are incorrect. 

On Aug. 9, according to court documents, the B.C. Conservatives posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that Wright had been removed as a candidate due to her campaign performance and conduct. Wright says the party made further comments to media about her performance as a candidate. 

She's asking the party to remove the posts about her performance and claims that she breached the party's code of conduct. 

Wright said she has thrown her support behind Ashley Ramsay, who is running as an Independent in Kelowna-Mission.