MLA since 2013, running again in Richmond-Bridgeport for the Conservative Party of BC.
Teresa Wat has been an MLA since 2013 and won Richmond-Bridgeport for the Conservatives in 2024. In August 2026 she left the Conservative caucus, in September she joined CentreBC, and Vista Radio reported she went back to the Conservatives on September 22. The legislature lists her as Independent; Elections BC lists her as the Conservative Party candidate.
A researched record of Teresa Wat's 14 commitments, 12 dated actions and 8 public statements, with 7 news items. Most come from the legislature record and Conservative caucus releases.
On dates without a confirmed appearance the public schedule is unknown; the candidate may still have activities that day. This static page changes only when its research is updated.
01 / Introduction
About Teresa Wat
Teresa Wat is the Conservative Party candidate in Richmond-Bridgeport on Elections BC's list for the general election of October 24, 2026. She won the district in 2024 with 9,908 votes, 58.19% of the valid vote, according to the Elections BC statement of votes.
The legislature record lists her election years as 2013, 2017, 2020 and 2024. A government release of June 10, 2013 names her Minister of International Trade and Minister Responsible for the Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism. The Canadian Press reports she was first elected as a BC Liberal in 2013, and CBC News reports she moved from BC United to the Conservatives before the 2024 election.
On August 26, 2026 she left the Conservative caucus to sit as an Independent. In her release she said leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay had made "serious and unfounded accusations" that questioned her loyalty to Canada and had not apologized, CBC News reported. Findlay said she had apologized to Wat directly on July 29.
On September 11 she joined the new party started by Peter Milobar, The Canadian Press reported. On September 18 she was one of eight MLAs who joined CentreBC, according to CBC News and Vista Radio. On September 22, the day the election was called, Vista Radio reported that the seven MLAs who had joined with Milobar, a group it names as including Wat, went back to the Conservatives. The legislature still lists her as Independent.
In the legislature in 2026 she asked questions on small business costs, jobs, the cost of hosting FIFA games, court transport and the property tax deferral rate for seniors. She spoke on bills on trade, places of worship, supportive housing and freedom of information, and on May 27 she introduced a bill to make February Chinese Heritage Month.
The party's candidate page says she was a television news director and a newspaper news editor before politics, and lists honours she has received. Those are the party's own statements.
Published positions and selected commitments, separated by election cycle. Status labels describe the evidence reviewed, not a numerical score or a complete audit of the platform. Council approval is different from delivery.
14 commitments shown · Checked Sep 30
2026 · Public servicesNot established
Keep the rules on who may prescribe Chinese herbal medicine
In a caucus release on January 3, 2026, Wat asked the government to stop its plan to remove traditional Chinese medicine prescribing from the restricted activities, and to keep the current rules. She raised it again in the legislature on March 30 and in a release on April 1, the day the new health professions law took effect.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The release names the measure: keep the current regulatory framework. It gives no cost and no date of its own.
What still needs checking
Does the Ministry of Health make the regulation change that its regulator's website says the ministry was told to make?
In the debate on Bill 11 on April 1, 2026, Wat said a government serious about safety would invest in treatment and recovery and staff supportive housing properly. She named Alderbridge temporary modular housing in her district.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She names no amount, no number of treatment spaces and no date.
What still needs checking
Does she give a cost or a number of treatment spaces during the campaign?
Same rules for government housing as for private landlords
In the same debate on Bill 11, Wat said the new powers over supportive housing must apply in the same way whether the landlord is a private owner or the government.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is a statement of approach. It names no bill change, number or date.
What still needs checking
Did the Conservatives move an amendment to Bill 11 on this point, and how did she vote?
Keep the property tax deferral affordable for low-income seniors
In question period on May 26, 2026, Wat said the government had raised the interest rate on the property tax deferral program and asked the minister to keep the program for low-income seniors.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She gives no rate she would set, no cost and no date.
What still needs checking
Does she or her party state a rate for the deferral program?
Stop charging sales tax on security services for places of worship
In the debate on Bill 13 on March 31, 2026, Wat said the government should stop charging the 7 percent provincial sales tax on the security services that Jewish communities pay for to keep their places of worship safe.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The tax and its rate are named. She gives no cost of the change and no date.
What still needs checking
Does a Conservative platform include this tax change?
In the same debate, Wat said she agreed with the purpose of Bill 13, which creates access zones around places of worship, and said the law needs clear rules and police resources to be enforced.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She names no amount for police resources and no date.
In question period on May 7, 2026, Wat cited a B.C. Supreme Court notice that trials could be delayed because accused persons could not be moved to court, and asked when a permanent plan would be in place.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She asks for a plan. She gives no plan, cost or date of her own.
What still needs checking
Does the Attorney General report a permanent plan?
Report to the legislature on what the trade law changed
In the debate on Bill 5, the Trade Recognition Act, on February 26, 2026, Wat said the Conservatives would support the bill. She asked for an implementation plan with dates, public lists of exclusions, public reporting of barriers removed, and a review clause with a report to the legislature after 18 to 24 months.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The review clause and its time are named. She gives no cost.
What still needs checking
Does the government report to the legislature on the results of Bill 5?
In question period on March 12, 2026, Wat quoted the Canadian Federation of Independent Business on the cost of doing business and asked why the government ignores small businesses. On March 30 she asked when the government would cut the unemployment rate.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She names no tax, fee or program she would change, and no number or date.
What still needs checking
Does she name a measure for small business during the campaign?
In question period on April 29 and May 20, 2026, Wat asked whether the government had applied for federal major event status for the FIFA World Cup, and what taxpayers gain from ministers and staff attending matches.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She asks questions about spending. She states no measure, amount or date of her own.
What still needs checking
Does the government publish the cost of tickets for ministers and staff?
Delay Bill 9 and add the 2022 committee recommendations
On May 6, 2026, Wat spoke for an amendment to delay second reading of Bill 9, the freedom of information bill, by six months. She said the time should be used to put the recommendations of the 2022 all-party committee into the bill.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The amendment is named. She gives no cost and no date for the changes she asks for.
What still needs checking
Does a later bill include the 2022 committee recommendations?
A caucus release on April 1, 2026 quotes Wat saying the government must be open about decisions that may affect property in Richmond, after the City of Richmond wrote about Aboriginal title negotiations.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She states an approach. She names no bill, number or date. The release ties a transparency bill to another MLA, Scott McInnis.
What still needs checking
Does she state a position on a specific bill on title negotiations?
On May 27, 2026, Wat introduced Bill M248, the Chinese Heritage Month Act, to proclaim February of each year as Chinese Heritage Month in British Columbia.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The transcript records first reading approved and the bill set for second reading. voche.me found no record that it passed.
Recorded votes where the vote index names her, and bills she introduced. A vote belongs to the member it names.
Recorded vote, no
Voted no on the 2026 budget motion
The recorded vote index lists Wat voting no on the budget motion.
Scope, limits and sources
She also voted no at second and third reading of Bill 2 and second reading of Bill 3, the budget measures bills, and at third reading of the Supply Act on May 28.
Voted yes on first reading of a bill to repeal DRIPA
The recorded vote index lists Wat voting yes at first reading of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Repeal Act.
Scope, limits and sources
First reading is the vote to bring a bill in for debate. On March 12 she also voted yes at first reading of the Defunding Aboriginal Title Claims Affecting Private Property Act.
Voted yes on a motion in support of the Human Rights Code
The recorded vote index lists Wat voting yes on Motion 13, support for the Human Rights Code and its enforcement, and on its amendment. On February 26 the index lists her voting yes at first reading of the Human Rights Code Repeal Act.
Scope, limits and sources
First reading is the vote to bring a bill in for debate. voche.me did not open the transcripts of these votes.
Read original statements and reporting, or open the publisher’s video. A summary of a speech is labelled separately from a full recording.
Statement
Question period on the Oak Street Bridge encampment
A caucus release says Wat asked the government in question period about the encampment under the Oak Street Bridge, and quotes her calling for addiction and mental health treatment, including involuntary treatment.
Wat said the Conservatives would support the bill and asked for clear rules on what the law leaves out, public reporting, and a review after 18 to 24 months.
Statement on traditional Chinese medicine prescribing
Wat said the change in prescribing rules for Chinese herbal formulas affects patient safety and that the profession had raised concerns since February 2024.
Wat spoke about Alderbridge temporary modular housing in her district and said the bill does not deal with drugs, fire risk and staffing in supportive housing.
Records are labelled by type, including official findings, civil proceedings and political disputes where applicable. Each entry identifies the response found in the sources and the latest status verified for this page.
Campaign dispute
Dispute with Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay
Wat said Findlay had made accusations that questioned her loyalty to Canada. CBC News reports the remarks were in a screenshot of an alleged group chat posted by an anonymous X account on July 29, in which Findlay claimed Wat had links to the Chinese Communist Party. Black Press Media reports the messages were leaked and attributed to Findlay.
Candidate or party response
Wat told CBC News her loyalty has always been to Canada and to the people who elected her. Findlay said she had apologized to Wat directly on July 29 and considered the matter resolved, Black Press Media reported.
Verified status and limits
Wat left the caucus on August 26. Vista Radio reported on September 22 that Findlay had resigned as leader. No official finding on the remarks is on record.
A dated reading list from independent publishers. The headings below are voche.me summaries; follow each link for the original article, context and any corrections.
Reporting
CBC News
Richmond results in the 2024 election
Reports her 2024 win and quotes her on why the Conservative drug policy drew support in her district.
Sources checked September 30, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
voche.me found no campaign website of her own; the party candidate page holds a biography and no measures. Her X, Facebook and Instagram pages show no readable posts to a direct read, so nothing from them is used. No source read by voche.me states her own reason for returning to the Conservatives in September 2026; the Vista Radio report that she returned does not quote her, and the Conservative caucus statement of September 21 does not name her. The Attorney General and Jobs ministry estimates debates and her Bill 9 speech of April 21 were not read line by line, and the transcripts of recorded votes were not opened. Her Oak Street Bridge question of November 2025 is known only from a caucus release; the transcript was not opened. Her district and party from 2013 to 2020, her years as minister after 2013, her media career and the honours on the party page were not checked against official records. No all-candidates meeting for Richmond-Bridgeport was found on 2026-09-30. Campaign finances and endorsements were not reviewed. The questionnaire has not been sent.
Research status
What voche.me has checked
Evidence reviewed on 2026-09-30: the Elections BC candidate list and 2024 statement of votes, the legislature's 2026 speech and vote indexes, 18 transcripts where she spoke, a 2013 government release, the party candidate and platform pages, five Conservative caucus releases that quote her, a caucus statement on readmitted members, and news reports from 2024 and 2026.
Her commitments on this page come from what she said in the legislature and in caucus releases in 2026. She has no campaign website of her own that voche.me could find. Sections with no entry record that voche.me found nothing on this date.
Proposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
No questions and answers have been supplied.
Have your own question?
Ask Teresa Wat directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one.
05 / About this page
Questions about this page
Facts voche.me can state about Teresa Wat's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Teresa Wat?
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Teresa Wat's own campaign.
What party is Teresa Wat running with?
Teresa Wat is running for MLA with Conservative Party of BC.
Does Teresa Wat currently hold public office?
Yes. Teresa Wat currently serves as MLA for Richmond-Bridgeport.
How many sources does this Teresa Wat profile cite?
This profile lists 4 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
Why do some questions on Teresa Wat's page show no answer?
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Teresa Wat in a future interview. They have not been sent yet, so the page says plainly that no answer has been supplied instead of leaving the section blank.
When is the election Teresa Wat is running in?
The 2026 British Columbia election, including the MLA race, is decided on October 24, 2026.
06 / Candidate contributions
Space for campaign updates
No campaign updates yet
Announcements, event details and messages can be added here, with their source and publication date. No campaign submission has been added.
