Peter Milobar
Peter Milobar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Kamloops Centre | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | new riding |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Kamloops-North Thompson | |
| In office May 9, 2017 – October 19, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Terry Lake |
| Succeeded by | Ward Stamer |
| Mayor of Kamloops | |
| In office December 1, 2008 – July 1, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Terry Lake |
| Succeeded by | Ken Christian |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 13, 1970 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Political party | BC Conservative |
| Other political affiliations | BC United |
| Spouse | Lianne Milobar |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | Kamloops, British Columbia |
| Profession | Businessman |
Peter Gordon Milobar (born February 13, 1970) is a Canadian politician serving as an MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia) from Kamloops since 2017. Representing the riding of Kamloops-Centre, he is a member of the Conservative Party of British Columbia. He previously served as a member of the BC Liberal Party (later BC United) before crossing the floor to the Conservative Party in 2024.
Early life and career
[edit]Milobar was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and raised in Kamloops, British Columbia. He lives in Kamloops with his wife Lianne and their three children where they operate a small business together.[1] In addition to community involvement, Milobar has experience working with the BC Transit Board of Directors, PRIMECorp, and the Local Government Contract Management Committee.[1]
Political career
[edit]Kamloops City Council
[edit]While managing his family's Days Inn Hotel, Milobar made his first run for Kamloops City Council at the age of 32, winning his seat with 7,130 votes.[2] Milobar ran on a platform of working to ensure Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) retain its status as a referral centre with further expansion/equipment to retain and attract new doctors and nurses, and the expansion of the local tax base by encouraging further development in Kamloops. At the age of 35 he was re-elected as a city councillor in the 2005 municipal election.
He served on city council for two terms from 2002 to 2008 and chaired the Thompson-Nicola Regional District from 2006 to 2011, making him the first Kamloops mayor elected to chair the Thompson Nicola Regional District.[3] Following that, Milobar was then elected chair of the Thompson Regional Hospital District [4] from 2012 to 2017.
Kamloops Mayor
[edit]On July 30, 2008, Milobar announced his plans to run for Mayor in the 2008 fall election with a platform of "A Balanced Approach" to decision making, and his goals of fulfilling tournament capital commitments, upgrading the sewage treatment plant, completing the Kamloops Sustainability Plan,[5] working with agricultural groups on a new expo space, work on affordable housing options, safety initiatives between Royal Canadian Mounted Police and By-Law staff, and to work with BC Transit for continued sustainable transit expansion.[6][7]
Amid the Economic crisis of 2008, Kamloops elected the 38 year old Milobar as Mayor of Kamloops on November 15, 2008. 13,147 ballots cast in his favour, gave him 74.13% of the overall vote, making him the 39th mayor of Kamloops.[8] He was mayor for 3 terms from 2008 to 2017, making him Kamloops' longest-serving mayor. [9][3]
BC Liberal/United
[edit]Milobar was elected in the 2017 provincial election[10] as a member of the BC Liberal caucus, representing the electoral district of the Kamloops-North Thompson. During his time he served as the official opposition critic for Finance, for Environment and Climate Change, for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and was previously the opposition House Leader.[11] He was re-elected in 2020, winning by less than 200 votes.[12]
Conservative Party of BC
[edit]On September 3, 2024, Peter Milobar was announced as the Conservative Party of British Columbia candidate for Kamloops Centre.[13] Despite difference on social policies, such as SOGI123, he said he will find agreement with party leader John Rustad.[14] Experts consider him a centrist voice and he signalled similar positions in an interview with his local news station when asked whether he considers himself a Conservative.[15]
He went on to win his seat again, defeating NDP candidate Kamal Grewal by about 2,000 votes. He celebrated with his friends and family at Match Eatery at Cascades Casino that night.[16] Milobar currently serves as the official opposition's critic for Finance.[1]
In February 2025, as a response to what he regards as residential school denialism emerging from his own party caucus, after Dallas Brodie tweeted controversial statements, he delivered some deeply personal comments in the legislature.[17] He emphasized his background and the fact that his wife and his kids are all Indigenous son-in-law is a Tk’emlúps band member. He also reaffirmed his commitment to pushing back against denialism recognizing that he would do this knowing that his comments would not be welcome in all spaces including his own party.[17] He did concede that it was difficult for the Conservative caucus to navigate this divisive topic, but when confronted with it in his own party he pushed back and did not remain silent.[17]
Electoral record
[edit]| 2024 British Columbia general election: Kamloops Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Peter Milobar | 12,373 | 48.8% | +45.8 | ||||
| New Democratic | Kamal Grewal | 10,369 | 40.9% | +0.4 | ||||
| Green | Randy Sunderman | 2,597 | 10.2% | -5.5 | ||||
| Total valid votes | – | |||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Registered voters | ||||||||
| Source: Elections BC[18] | ||||||||
| 2020 British Columbia general election: Kamloops-North Thompson | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Peter Milobar | 9,341 | 40.99 | −7.33 | $59,084.81 | |||
| New Democratic | Sadie Hunter | 9,145 | 40.13 | +9.78 | $18,663.02 | |||
| Green | Thomas Martin | 2,224 | 9.76 | −10.80 | $9,496.78 | |||
| Conservative | Dennis Giesbrecht | 1,928 | 8.46 | – | $2,954.19 | |||
| Independent | Brandon Russell | 149 | 0.65 | – | $995.20 | |||
| Total valid votes | 22,787 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Registered voters | ||||||||
| Source: Elections BC[19][20] | ||||||||
| 2017 British Columbia general election: Kamloops-North Thompson | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Peter Milobar | 12,001 | 48.32 | −3.74 | $47,484 | |||
| New Democratic | Barb Nederpel | 7,538 | 30.35 | −8.7 | $68,758 | |||
| Green | Dan Hines | 5,111 | 20.58 | – | $17,164 | |||
| Communist | Peter Paul Kerek | 187 | 0.75 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes | 24,837 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 200 | 0.80 | ||||||
| Turnout | 25,037 | 60.34 | ||||||
| Source: Elections BC[21] | ||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Peter Milobar at Conservative Party of BC". Conservative Party of BC. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ "Kamloops Daily News Monday, November 18, 2002 Section A9". News Hound. November 18, 2002.
- ^ a b "It's now chairman Milobar at TNRD".
- ^ "TNRD elects chair".
- ^ "Sustainable Kamloops Plan" (PDF). City of Kamloops. 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "Kamloops This Week July 30, 2008 Section: A06". News Hound.
- ^ "Staying the Course". Kamloops This Week. October 26, 2008.
- ^ "Kamloops Daily News Clean Sweep Section: A01 & A02". News Hound. November 17, 2008.
- ^ "List of Mayors for City of Kamloops from Incorporation to Present" (PDF).
- ^ "BC Liberal Peter Milobar declared elected in Kamloops-North Thompson". CFJC Today, May 9, 2017.
- ^ Yuzda, Liza and Denise Wong (7 February 2022). "Kevin Falcon names BC Liberal critics, will run in byelection for legislature seat". CityNews. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ Potestio, Michael; Oct 19, Josh Dawson-; Story: 512731, 2024 / 10:09 pm |. "Milobar returns to Victoria as Kamloops Centre MLA - Kamloops News". www.castanetkamloops.net. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ John Rustad (September 3, 2024). "Uniting for a Stronger Future: John Rustad Welcomes Ian Paton, Peter Milobar, and Trevor Halford to the Conservative Party of British Columbia". Conservative Party of BC. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
- ^ "Kamloops MLA promises to be moderate voice within BC Conservative Party". INFOnews. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ "Senior MLA Peter Milobar 'at peace' with switch to B.C. Conservatives". The Abbotsford News. 2024-09-04. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ Potestio, Michael; Oct 19, Josh Dawson-; Story: 512731, 2024 / 10:09 pm |. "Milobar returns to Victoria as Kamloops Centre MLA - Kamloops News". www.castanetkamloops.net. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c "B.C. Conservative MLA hits back at residential-school deniers within own party caucus". vancouversun. Archived from the original on 2025-02-27. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ https://globalnews.ca/news/10779004/bc-election-2024-results-kamloops-centre/
- ^ "2020 Provincial General Election Final Voting Results". electionsbcenr.blob.core.windows.net. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
- ^ "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ "Statement of Votes – 41st Provincial General Election – May 9, 2017" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
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- 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
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