John Rustad Resigns as Leader of BC Conservative Party

John Rustad has resigned as leader of the B.C. Conservative Party in an announcement made Dec. 4 at the provincial legislature in Victoria.

Rustad did not provide further details on his decision, but confirmed he will step down as leader while staying on as an MLA.

“I am announcing that I am stepping down as the leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia,” Rustad said Dec. 4. “I will be remaining as an MLA and carrying out the work that needs to be done with regards to representing my riding of Nechako Lakes.”

In a statement issued Dec. 4, Rustad said he is proud of his leadership of the party and will continue to support the party as it opposes the governing B.C. NDP.

In post on X later the same day, Rustad encouraged British Columbians to join and support the B.C. Conservative party and urged voters to “think carefully” about who the next leader should be.

“The media will try to anoint their preferred leader, but that may not align with what ordinary British Columbians need. So I ask you to think carefully about the path ahead,” Rustad wrote. “Whoever leads this party into the next election will almost certainly become the next premier and inherit a province standing at a crossroads.”

He said the party needs someone who will stand up to “overreach from Ottawa,” and face challenges to B.C. private property rights, rising crime, carbon pricing, and “reckless deficit spending.”

Rustad’s resignation comes the day after the party said it had “removed” him as leader, saying a majority of the party caucus did not have “confidence” in Rustad and considers him “professionally incapacitated” and thus unable to continue serving as party chief.

Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford was selected as interim leader by caucus vote.

Twenty members of the 39-member caucus had said they wanted Rustad out as party leader, according to a letter posted to social media from lawyer Bruce Hallsor to Aisha Estey, the president of the Conservative Party of B.C.

The B.C. Conservative Party constitution permits a leader to be removed if their support drops below 50 percent. Rustad responded to news of his ousting Dec. 3 by saying on social media he was not resigning, and that the “creative terminology” used by the caucus members who wanted him out was not valid per the party’s constitution.

He has since appeared to delete the post and changed his X bio to “MLA for Nechako-Lakes.”

In a Sept. 22 leadership review Rustad had won in 78 of 93 party ridings, with 70.6 percent of members voting to support his leadership. He said at the time that the result gave him “a mandate to lead.”

Rustad became leader of the B.C. Conservatives in 2022 and led the party to becoming the official Opposition in last year’s provincial election. However, his leadership has been marred by the departure of five MLAs in the past year, including two who were ejected and the Oct. 20 exit of MLA Amelia Boultbee, who said she didn’t trust Rustad’s leadership or his response to questions over the legitimacy of the leadership review process.

Party president Aisha Estey and six other members of the party’s management committee called on Rustad to step down in October, saying he had undermined the party and weakened its support in the province. At the time Rustad said he would stay on as leader.

In the Dec. 3 letter posted to X saying they had “removed” Rustad as leader, the party announced that further updates will be provided as they begin a leadership race to elect a new permanent leader.

The B.C. Conservatives currently hold 39 seats in the legislature compared to the governing NDP’s 47 seats.

The Epoch Times contacted Rustad for comment but didn’t hear back by publication time.