B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad says he won’t step down, even after the party’s executive management committee sent him a letter saying the party is in “a state of chaos” and that he should immediately resign his position.
“I’ve received the letter. I haven’t actually gone through the details, that’s something I still need to do. But this is an internal matter within the party, and I plan to have an opportunity to speak with the management committee,” Rustad told reporters on Wednesday.
Asked whether the committee can force him to resign, Rustad said the party constitution is “not long” and is available online.
The letter is dated Oct. 21 and was signed by seven of nine committee members, including party president Aisha Estey, along with Wesly Graham, Ndellie Massey, Troy Lanigan, Sacha Peter, Mauro Francis and Andre Roberge. All but Francis were part of the Rustad-aligned slate elected at the party’s AGM in March.
“While leadership inevitably involves navigating challenging circumstances, the constant and prolonged discord shows no sign of abating,” the letter states.
“The resulting state of chaos — driven by a series of decisions and actions taken under your leadership — has destabilized the party’s internal cohesion and diminished its public credibility.”
Since the October 2024 provincial election, the party has lost five MLAs, with Rustad kicking out Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dallas Brodie in March for denying children died at the residential school in Kamloops.
Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream MLA Tara Armstrong and Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy quit the Conservatives in solidarity, and Brodie and Armstrong have since formed the right-wing OneBC party .
More recently, Rustad ejected Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko from caucus in late September over allegations she had been plotting against him. On Monday, her friend, Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boutlbee, left the party , citing the “unravelling” of the party leader.
Leaks to CKNW radio host Jas Johal about efforts in caucus to hold a vote on Rustad’s leadership led to all MLAs having their personal and private phones searched by deputy whip Reann Gasper two weeks ago.
Rustad narrowly survived a bruising leadership review over the summer, receiving 70.66 per cent support among the 1,268 members who voted. That is less than 20 per cent of the whole membership.
During the review, 2,238 improper membership sign-ups appeared in Kelowna, leading to allegations of attempted ballot stuffing in Rustad’s favour. Two staffers later lost their jobs over the incident and Rustad refused to comment when asked about it, directing all questions to the party.
The executive committee said these events, plus “sagging poll numbers, memberships, fundraising … philosophically inconsistent policy, low morale, and perhaps most importantly, a lack of enthusiasm and tepid endorsement from our membership” has convinced them that Rustad is no longer the right person to lead the party forward.
Some current members of the caucus, including caucus chair Jody Toor, Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Kiel Giddens and Abbotsford West MLA Korky Neufeld, voiced their support for the party leader.
“Absolutely 100 per cent,” said Neufeld, when asked if he has confidence in Rustad. “We look forward to working together as a unit to defeat the NDP in the next election.”
More to come …
