BC Conservative Leader John Rustad Called to Step Down

Photo Credit: Arlen Redekop/The Vancouver Sun

On Oct. 21, John Rustad, the leader of the BC Conservative Party, was called on to resign in a letter signed by seven out of nine of the BC Conservative Party management committee members.

This letter, leaked to the press by an anonymous source, alleges that Rustad’s decisions have “destabilized the party’s internal cohesion and diminished its public credibility.” It cited  “sagging poll numbers, memberships, fundraising, a shrinking caucus and staff, [and] philosophically inconsistent policy” as factors behind the request.

However, Rustad refused to resign.

“I’ve received the management letter,” he said, according to CBC News. “I’m not going to be resigning.”

Just two days before the letter surfaced, Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee quit the BC Conservative Party, choosing to sit as an Independent instead. She was the fifth MLA to leave or be forced to leave the caucus.

In March, Rustad expelled Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dallas Brodie for mocking and denying testimony from residential school survivors. Her removal prompted the resignation of Tara Armstrong of Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream and Jordan Kealy of Peace River North, who accused Rostad of “diluting conservative values.”

Following their removal from the party, Brodie and Armstrong formed OneBC in June, a primarily right-wing party. 

Oppositely, Surrey MLA Elenore Sturko was removed from the party in September for her “socially liberal beliefs,” according to CBC News. She claimed that party members had previously attacked her for defending “ethnic minorities and gender minorities” in an interview.

The party’s unrest partially stems from the diverse makeup of the BC Conservative Party’s membership. The caucus includes many far-right politicians who oppose trans and Indigenous rights, as well as more centrist MLAs who were formerly in the BC United Party. The BC United Party, formerly known as the Liberals, previously held the majority in parliament before their collapse in August 2024, just a month before the 2024 provincial elections. 

In the aftermath, many former BC United MLAs joined the Conservative Party, which is now giving rise to the ideological disputes and departures threatening Rustad’s leadership.

However, Boultbee believes that with a different leader, the differences could be successfully navigated. “There’s always going to be ideological differences in a party. You’re going to have a spectrum of views. That’s not that unusual,” she told The Tyee.

Tensions further escalated when caucus members tried to hold a vote on Rustad’s leadership. The plans were leaked to the media, which resulted in Rustad ordering deputy whip Reann Gasper to search the MLAs' private phones. 

“Not every single MLA expressed interest, but the vast majority said, ‘Yes, let’s do this,’” said Rustad. “Every MLA’s phone was looked at.”

The vote was eventually held in September. Rustad received almost 71 per cent support among the 1,268 members who voted, which was less than 20 per cent of the total membership.

However, during the review, 2,238 improper membership sign-ups surfaced in Kelowna, which caused allegations of attempted ballot-stuffing in Rustad’s favour. Following this, two staffers lost their jobs. Rustad refused to comment when asked about it.

Furthermore, on Oct. 26, the results of a new poll by the Angus Reid Institute were published, with a dataset of over 1,000 responses. It was found that 48 per cent of the participants who voted for him in 2024 would suggest that Rustad resign, and 31 per cent of those who voted for him were unsure what they suggested for his future. These poll results support the BC Conservative Party management committee’s earlier assertion that Rustad is receiving sagging poll numbers.