KRUGGEL: Potential recall of Tara Armstrong isn't about a single flashpoint issue, or a scandal

The voters in the provincial riding of Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream elected Tara Armstrong in October 2024 to represent them as a British Columbia Conservative MLA. She won the riding with a solid 53.92% of the vote with the NDP coming in at a distant second with 35.25%.

Her win was all but guaranteed as the area has been a strong anti-NDP stronghold for generations. When Kevin Falcon folded the BC United Party up and packed it in Armstrong has no competition on the right. Independent Kevin Kraft, formerly of BC United, had no official banner to run under and he pulled in a measly 6.5% of the vote.

The brief history

That all changed when the party expelled Dallas Brodie early in 2025 for her belittling comments on the survivors of Residential School. Her comments were considered so off putting and inappropriate that the BC Conservatives didn't even want her. New Democrats might smarmily declare that the bar has to be pretty high for them to toss out a member for such an infraction.

This is when everything changed. Armstrong and fellow MLA Jordan Kealy both left the party in protest. Kealy made the good call to sit as an independent. Brodie and Armstrong formed the One BC party and took advantage of Legislature rules making Armstrong the party whip and house leader. Brodie was the party leader. They had official status and a budget.

Without going into to many details One BC under Brodie spent 2025 engaging in the art of performance politics. Her antics and managerial style resulted in the party having an internal coup, Brodie being kicked out as leader, and then her retaking the party back over and Armstrong leaving.

This bring us to 2026 where Tara Armstrong, independent MLA, has taken Brodie's disruption antics and games to a whole new level.

Tara Armstrong and recall today

Her days in the legislature are about social issues such as transgender people, First Nations, and now the BC Human Rights Code. What she doesn't advocate on is investment in her riding, housing health care, education, taxes, or any of the so-called kitchen table issues facing her constituents.

Wilbur Turner is co-leading the soon to be launched recall campaign to unseat her.

When she was elected, she was elected as a B.C. Conservative. She platformed on affordability, health care, supporting seniors and people with disabilities … and when she got elected, she went on a totally different road. ~~ Wilbur Turner

Turner makes a reasonable case for recall this time which is different from cases we've previously had or those we see unfolding in Alberta today. This case isn't about a single flashpoint issue or a scandal.

She isn't doing the job she was hired to do

It is about her on the job performance not meeting the expectations of the voters. Armstrong hasn't fallen short by a little either. She's completely ignored the issues she campaigned on and abandoned her voters. That's a different situation.

I think the comparison to anyone in any other field of employment conducting themselves as she has on the job is valid. Say you hire someone to stock shelves, sweep the floor, and carry out heavy stuff for shoppers in your store. That person does the job but then one day stops doing those tasks. Instead they are trying to sell customers TV sets despite you having a sales staff, they talk to the cashiers, and when shelves are empty you find them on the floor rearranging displays.

That's Tara Armstrong today. She is an MLA and she is being political but she's not doing the job she was elected to do. In the case of the employee earlier, you'd fire them if they didn't buckle down and get the job done.

Tara Armstrong either needs to start doing her job, or she needs to be fired.

Is that not reasonable?

Is it not reasonable that voters in a riding should be able to recall their elected official if they aren't do the job the campaigned on? 

Had Armstrong switched parties to the NDP those on the right would be saying, nay, demanding that she run in a by-election. Polling data shows that a majority of Canadians do support by-elections for floor crossers. I'm not one of those in support of that, but I do think that not doing the job is valid reason. That reason should be accepted by everyone regardless if they are right, centrist, or left wing. If you aren't doing the job you said you would then you don't deserve to have that job.

Recall in this instance is reasonable.