Latest news with #Rustad
Vancouver Sun
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Á'a:líya Warbus: Right-hand woman to B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad
Sto:lo Nation member Á ʼa ꞉líya Warbus, a documentary filmmaker, Capilano University instructor and one-time hip-hop artist, readily acknowledges that of course she was criticized for running as a candidate for the B.C. Conservative Party. Conservatives aren't normally associated with caring that much about Indigenous people's issues, the environment or marginalized people — even though Warbus is intensely concerned about all of those issues and more. By contrast, the B.C. NDP have three Indigenous MLAs. And for what it's worth, the premier of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, is NDP. (Warbus once knew Kinew from the hip-hop circuit, and believes he's a leader for all people.) Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The B.C. Conservatives have only one Indigenous MLA. That's after Warbus was elected by a 2,300-vote margin last October in the riding of Chilliwack-Cultus Lake. Warbus, 40, has no trouble going against stereotypes, countering cliches and breaking down barriers. Inspired by her well-known father, Steven Point — a former Sto:lo Nation chief, former B.C. lieutenant governor, and former university chancellor — she wants to do what is best for Indigenous people and the wider culture. 'My dad would never tell you his politics, but he's always been for Indigenous rights. He was always asking how is this work going to benefit the larger community, as well as our community. His point of view, really, is that we just need to be involved.' Warbus is involved, to say the least. She's a community leader, a former hip-hop singer with the band Rapture Rising, a digital-film instructor at Capilano University, a podcaster, and the enthusiastic head of a self-financing group of about 25 Sto:lo war canoeists and catamaran paddlers. Known as Star Nation Canoe Club, they enter sprint competitions around the world. B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad has noted her organizational skills. Warbus now serves the crucial role of Opposition house leader, which means she manages the daily business of the party's 41-member caucus in the legislature. In effect, she is the right-hand woman to Rustad. 'I would say in many instances I become a stand-in for John, representing him as best I can. We have a really good working relationship. He trusts me,' she said in an interview last week. 'House leader is a lot of heavy lifting. I would say that I have a high threshold for, I don't want to say chaos, but for organizational demand. Especially when I have support, I can carry quite a load.' She likes to think both she and Rustad approach potentially divisive issues, of which there are many, with 'human kindness.' A mother of three children, she attributes her willingness to take on eclectic challenges to several people, including her mother, Gwendolyn, her husband, Kalvin Warbus, a filmmaker who works with troubled Indigenous boys, and her father, Steven Point. At age 73, Point is a criminal lawyer, retired provincial court judge, former lieutenant governor of B.C, former head of the B.C. Treaty Commission and, until last year, chancellor of the University of B.C. In 2022, when the city of Richmond renamed Trutch Street because of its link to B.C.'s first lieutenant governor, Joseph Trutch, who was openly hostile toward Indigenous people, council chose the name Point Street . Despite her many influences, Warbus has her own ideas about what needs to be done. Last year, before the provincial election in which the B.C. Conservatives came in a surprisingly close second to the NDP government, Warbus said she put her name forward in part because she opposes the NDP's emphasis on providing so-called 'safe supply' of opioids to people with addictions. Instead of fighting for prevention and rehabilitation, Warbus said, the NDP government has been 'pushing addictive drugs on both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. It has to end.' In the legislature, Warbus recently recited the names of the many Indigenous people she has known who have died because of drug overdoses. 'I've lost so many people close to me.' She has been close to people on drugs who become psychotic, who don't at that time really know who they are, she said. People in that state, she said, must be provided services and treatment, although she recognizes the sensitivity of the term 'involuntary care.' When it comes to Indigenous economic development, she said one of her inspirations is Ellis Ross , a former chief councillor for the Haisla Nation who in 2022 came in second for the leadership of the B.C. Liberals. Ross was a big force behind getting a 650-kilometre pipeline built to serve LNG Canada's new terminal in Kitimat. As of this spring's federal election, he is the Conservative MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley. Her admiration of Ross doesn't mean she will be rah-rah for every resource extraction project, though. 'We do need to get our resources moving and developed, but it has to be in a way that applies the highest possible environmental standards and that takes into consideration the impacts it's going to have on the people and the land.' For his part, Rustad often cites how, when he was Indigenous relations minister in the former B.C. Liberal government, he completed more than 400 economic agreements with First Nations . On a different controversy, Warbus stood side by side with Rustad when he pushed back this spring against three members of the B.C. Conservative caucus who made light of the harms done to Indigenous people by the federally funded, church-run residential school system. After a showdown in which the dissenters accused Warbus of being in league with the NDP, two of the three MLAs went on to form a new party. Warbus stays in the fight for a better world in part because of her spiritual convictions — like her father, who attended the Roman Catholic church while growing up on the Skowkale First Nation reserve, next to Chilliwack. Like almost half Indigenous people in Canada, Warbus blends First Nations spirituality with Christianity. Yet she understands why some Indigenous people whose family members attended the defunct residential school system are suspicious. 'Christianity, unfortunately, has negative ties to residential schools, to people who did bad things. You know, if you're burned by a stove, you don't want to go near the stove again. And I totally respect that. So I never want to be presumptuous. But my own experience is growing up and going to church with my dad and hearing the stories of Jesus has been positive.' dtodd@
Global News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Global News
The battle for the soul of the BC Conservatives
Dave Sharkey still remembers how he felt about the future of the Conservative Party of B.C. when he was part of the delegation that marched in the 2022 Aldergrove Christmas Light Up Parade. 'There were only four of us,' Sharkey said. 'Two of us were holding the banner, and the other two were handing out candy canes. But the reception was actually surprisingly positive, and it was a kind of experience that led me to believe that in terms of our political ambitions, we were on the right track.' Sharkey, a party member since 2017 and a former provincial candidate for the Libertarian Party, now sees Conservatives on the wrong track. His conclusion comes despite the BC Conservatives coming within a whisker of forming government in October 2024 when 912,000 residents voted for the party that had just under 36,000 votes in the 2020 election. Story continues below advertisement 1:51 Conservative leader accuses political rivals of blackmail Sharkey said he blames the same man others credit for reviving a party that once polled at two per cent: Official Opposition Leader John Rustad. The party's direction and identity are at the heart of a dispute that set off the departure of three members of the legislature and arguments among riding associations. Should it be populist or moderate? Big tent or small? It also comes as party members review Rustad's leadership in accordance with the party's constitution. Rustad became the leader a month after joining the party in March 2023. He had been with the BC Liberals since 2005, but was kicked out in 2022 by then-leader Kevin Falcon. Relations between the rivals then reversed in August 2024, when Falcon suspended the election campaign of his party, rebranded as BC United, following the defections of members to the Conservatives. Story continues below advertisement Now, Sharkey said, the Conservatives have become a rebranded version of Rustad's old party. There was no appetite from the members to be that big-tent party, he said. 'There is an appetite from the members to remain a grassroots party, and if Mr. Rustad wants to be a big tent, start a big-tent party.' He believes Rustad's changes cost the Conservatives the election win, said Sharkey, who considers himself the riding association president in Abbotsford-Mission. The party's executive director Angelo Isidorou said in a statement Monday that Sharkey is neither a member nor a riding association president. 2:20 John Rustad takes aim at former BC Conservative MLAs Domenic Cinalli describes himself as an early supporter and one-time close confidant of Rustad, but said he doesn't like the direction Rustad has taken the party. Story continues below advertisement 'He has abandoned what we all stood for,' Cinalli said. 'He's abandoned the strong stances that we had and it wasn't just John who brought us there. It was all the volunteers and the people who were out there fighting tooth and nail.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Cinalli said he's disappointed about the party changed directions on reconciliation with First Nations and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) programming. 'They have gone more mediocre, more to the middle,' said Cinalli, who is no longer a party member. But for others, the Conservative tent isn't big enough. Ryan Beedie, a prominent Vancouver businessman, said in a social media post last month that the Conservatives will need to 'rebrand to something more inclusive' if they wish to appeal to 'centrist voters' just as Social Credit or the BC Liberals did in the past. A months-long leadership review is underway amid allegations from Rustad that three former Conservative MLAs — Tara Armstrong, Dallas Broadie and Jordan Keely — 'blackmailed' Conservative staff. Rustad first made the allegation in a letter to his caucus without naming the MLAs directly. All three have denied the claims, and have instead accused Rustad of using the allegations to distract from questions about his leadership. While Rustad has since expressed regret for using the term blackmail, his critics have seized on it. Story continues below advertisement 2:11 Ousted Conservative MLA starts new B.C. political party Beedie said Rustad's allegations raise questions about his leadership and the party should use the review to move toward the middle. 'Hopefully, this (review) is a positive step toward the BC Conservatives getting their house in order and shifting their political strategy to a more centrist approach. They will need to do so, or the BC NDP will be staying in power for the foreseeable future.' UBC political science lecturer Stewart Prest said the Conservatives consist of a 'populist' wing and a moderate wing, and the current riding-by-riding leadership vote could make for a 'messy summer' with Rustad facing pressure from both sides. 'We are already hearing rumblings of challenges from both camps, so I don't know if it is an either-or situation,' Prest said, when asked which faction was more likely to challenge Rustad for leadership. Story continues below advertisement A central source of criticism concerns the handling of the party's last annual general meeting held in March. The 'Team Rustad' slate swept elections for the party's board of directors. Delegates also approved amendments to the party's constitution as proposed by Rustad. But not everybody has accepted the results, including Armstrong, Brodie and Kealy. Brodie was kicked out of caucus days after the general meeting for comments concerning residential school survivors and Armstrong and Kealy followed her in solidarity. In May, they alleged Rustad and his team 'rigged' the meeting that endorsed the board, claiming it was stacked with South Asian supporters paid 'to vote the way Mr. Rustad wanted.' Brodie and Armstrong have since gone on to form their own party, OneBC. Its chief of staff is Tim Thielmann, a former Conservative candidate in Victoria-Beacon Hill. After losing the election, Thielmann was fired from his party job as director of research. Thielmann later ran for party president at the AGM, but delegates re-elected current president Aisha Estey. 1:55 BC NDP caucus chair writes to RCMP about blackmail allegations The allegations surrounding the AGM received another airing last month when 50-plus signatories describing themselves as 'executive members or former executive members' of riding associations called on Estey to launch an external audit of the AGM. Story continues below advertisement The letter repeats the allegation that Team Rustad stacked the meeting with paid supporters, but also alleges that delegates were selected and rejected on the 'basis of their political leanings or allegiance to Rustad.' It alleges Rustad and the executive team increased the influence of party executives over the selection process by 'improperly delaying, denying, or withdrawing certification of riding associations,' and placing Rustad loyalists into ridings where they were not residents. Sharkey said he signed the letter because he believed procedures were not correctly followed and he regarded the whole meeting 'to be illegitimate.' Sharkey shared this view in March, when he stood outside the meeting in Nanaimo to protest it, where Aeriol Alderking, another signatory, had joined him. Alderking, who ran federally for the People's Party of Canada in the last federal election, said the AGM was the site of a 'coup' where a 'handful of people' under Rustad's leadership stole the party from 'grassroots' Conservatives. 0:40 MLA Dallas Brodie booted from B.C. Conservative caucus 'Under John Rustad, it has become a centralized BC Liberal Party top down,' she said in an interview. 'The only thing they have done is put a blue coat on a red party.' Story continues below advertisement A statement from the party said the letter is 'signed largely by those who are not even members of the party, let alone (directors).' The 'allegations are just as absurd as the notion of a letter written by non-members, signed mostly by non-members, made to artificially inflate a non-issue for the sake of attention and mudslinging,' it said. Rustad has denied any wrongdoing at the meeting. 'I have been advised by our legal counsel and experts, who were present to scrutinize the voting process that our AGM was 100 per cent in line with this party's 2024-2025 constitution,' he said in the letter containing the blackmail allegations against the three former Conservative MLAs. Rustad said in an interview last month that critics like Sharkey and others 'want this party to be something that it is not.' 'I have said this all the way through the campaign, and I don't know why people haven't heard it — it's not about being Conservative or Liberal, or NDP, or Green. It's just standing for what's right and fighting for the average everyday people. That is the party that we have built,' Rustad said. Conservative member of the legislature Gavin Dew said the current party 'has had incredible success in building a new voter coalition' that includes many more young voters and more voters from different cultural communities. Story continues below advertisement 2:15 B.C. Conservative caucus conflict brewing 'We have made incredible strides with blue-collar voters,' Dew added. 'We do incredibly well with suburban voters. So, we have made all this progress, but it is clear that we still need to win over that incremental voters, which I would say is that middle-of-the-road voter.' If the party holds its current coalition together and adds more 'economically oriented voters' from the middle of the spectrum to this coalition, Conservatives can hold government for 'multiple terms,' Dew said in an interview. Prest is more skeptical. While strong poll numbers now and victory down the line might entice both wings of the Conservatives to put aside their differences, 'there isn't really a stable policy compromise that would make both of those sides happy' in the long-term, he said. 'In some really important ways, the divides between populist and more middle-of-the-road Conservatives are deeper than the divides between middle-of-the-road Conservatives and NDP, ' Prest said.
Vancouver Sun
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad faces criticism from several sides amid review
VICTORIA — Dave Sharkey still remembers how he felt about the future of the Conservative Party of B.C. when he was part of the delegation that marched in the 2022 Aldergrove Christmas Light Up Parade. 'There were only four of us,' Sharkey said. 'Two of us were holding the banner, and the other two were handing out candy canes. But the reception was actually surprisingly positive, and it was a kind of experience that led me to believe that in terms of our political ambitions, we were on the right track.' Sharkey, a party member since 2017 and a former provincial candidate for the Libertarian Party, now sees Conservatives on the wrong track. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. His conclusion comes despite the B.C. Conservatives coming within a whisker of forming government in October 2024 when 912,000 residents voted for the party that had just under 36,000 votes in the 2020 election. Sharkey said he blames the same man others credit for reviving a party that once polled at two per cent: official Opposition Leader John Rustad. The party's direction and identity is at the heart of a dispute that set off the departure of three members of the legislature and arguments among riding associations. Should it be populist or moderate? Big tent or small? It also comes as party members review Rustad's leadership in accordance with the party's constitution. Rustad became the leader a month after joining the party in March 2023. He had been with the B.C. Liberals since 2005, but was kicked out in 2022 by then-leader Kevin Falcon. Relations between the rivals then reversed in August 2024, when Falcon suspended the election campaign of his party, rebranded as B.C. United, following the defections of members to the Conservatives. Now, Sharkey said, the Conservatives have become a rebranded version of Rustad's old party. There was no appetite from the members to be that big-tent party, he said. 'There is an appetite from the members to remain a grassroots party, and if Mr. Rustad wants to be a big tent, start a big-tent party.' He believes Rustad's changes cost the Conservatives the election win, said Sharkey, who considers himself the riding association president in Abbotsford-Mission. Domenic Cinalli describes himself as an early supporter and one-time close confidant of Rustad, but said he doesn't like the direction Rustad has taken the party. 'He has abandoned what we all stood for,' Cinalli said. 'He's abandoned the strong stances that we had and it wasn't just John who brought us there. It was all the volunteers and the people who were out there fighting tooth and nail.' Cinalli said he's disappointed about the party changed directions on reconciliation with First Nations and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity programming. 'They have gone more mediocre, more to the middle,' said Cinalli, who is no longer a party member. But for others, the Conservative tent isn't big enough. Ryan Beedie, a prominent Vancouver businessman, said in a social media post last month that the Conservatives will need to 'rebrand to something more inclusive' if they wish to appeal to 'centrist voters' just as Social Credit or the B.C. Liberals did in the past. A months-long leadership review is underway amid allegations from Rustad that three former Conservative MLAs — Tara Armstrong, Dallas Broadie and Jordan Keely — 'blackmailed' Conservative staff. Rustad first made the allegation in a letter to his caucus without naming the MLAs directly. All three have denied the claims, and have instead accused Rustad of using the allegations to distract from questions about his leadership. While Rustad has since expressed regret for using the term blackmail, his critics have seized on it. Beedie said Rustad's allegations raise questions about his leadership and the party should use the review to move toward the middle. 'Hopefully, this (review) is a positive step toward the B.C. Conservatives getting their house in order and shifting their political strategy to a more centrist approach. They will need to do so, or the B.C. NDP will be staying in power for the foreseeable future.' UBC political science lecturer Stewart Prest said the Conservatives consist of a 'populist' wing and a moderate wing, and the current riding-by-riding leadership vote could make for a 'messy summer' with Rustad facing pressure from both sides. 'We are already hearing rumblings of challenges from both camps, so I don't know if it is an either-or situation,' Prest said, when asked which faction was more likely to challenge Rustad for leadership. A central source of criticism concerns the handling of the party's last annual general meeting held in March. The 'Team Rustad' slate swept elections for the party's board of directors. Delegates also approved amendments to the party's constitution as proposed by Rustad. But not everybody has accepted the results, including Armstrong, Brodie and Kealy. Brodie was kicked out of caucus days after the general meeting for comments concerning residential school survivors and Armstrong and Kealy followed her in solidarity. In May, they alleged Rustad and his team 'rigged' the meeting that endorsed the board, claiming it was stacked with South Asian supporters paid 'to vote the way Mr. Rustad wanted.' Brodie and Armstrong have since gone on to form their own party, One B.C. Its chief of staff is Tim Thielmann, a former Conservative candidate in Victoria-Beacon Hill. After losing the election, Thielmann was fired from his party job as director of research. Thielmann later ran for party president at the AGM, but delegates re-elected current president Aisha Estey. The allegations surrounding the AGM received another airing last month when 50-plus signatories describing themselves as 'executive members or former executive members' of riding associations called on Estey to launch an external audit of the AGM. The letter repeats the allegation that Team Rustad stacked the meeting with paid supporters, but also alleges that delegates were selected and rejected on the 'basis of their political leanings or allegiance to Rustad.' It alleges Rustad and the executive team increased the influence of party executive over the selection process by 'improperly delaying, denying, or withdrawing certification of riding associations,' and placing Rustad loyalists into ridings where they were not residents. Sharkey said he signed the letter because he believed procedures were not correctly followed and he regarded the whole meeting 'to be illegitimate.' Sharkey shared this view in March, when he stood outside the meeting in Nanaimo to protest it, where Aeriol Alderking, another signatory, had joined him. Alderking, who ran federally for the People's Party of Canada in the last federal election, said the AGM was the site of a 'coup' where a 'handful of people' under Rustad's leadership stole the party from 'grassroots' Conservatives. 'Under John Rustad, it has become a centralized B.C. Liberal party top down,' she said in an interview. 'The only thing they have done is put a blue coat on a red party.' A statement from the party said the letter is 'signed largely by those who are not even members of the party, let alone (directors).' The 'allegations are just as absurd as the notion of a letter written by non-members, signed mostly by non-members, made to artificially inflate a non-issue for the sake of attention and mudslinging,' it said. Rustad has denied any wrongdoing at the meeting. 'I have been advised by our legal counsel and experts, who were present to scrutinize the voting process that our AGM was 100 per cent in line with this party's 2024-2025 constitution,' he said in the letter containing the blackmail allegations against the three former Conservative MLAs. Rustad said in an interview last month that critics like Sharkey and others 'want this party to be something that it is not.' 'I have said this all way through the campaign, and I don't know why people haven't heard it — it's not about being Conservative or Liberal, or NDP, or Green. It's just standing for what's right and fighting for the average everyday people. That is the party that we have built,' Rustad said. Conservative member of the legislature Gavin Dew said the current party 'has had incredible success in building a new voter coalition' that includes many more young voters and more voters from different cultural communities. 'We have made incredible strides with blue-collar voters,' Dew added. 'We do incredibly well with suburban voters. So, we have made all this progress, but it is clear that we still need to win over that incremental voters, which I would say is that middle-of-the-road voter.' If the party holds its current coalition together and adds more 'economically oriented voters' from the middle of the spectrum to this coalition, Conservatives can hold government for 'multiple terms, ' Dew said in an interview. Prest is more skeptical. While strong poll numbers now and victory down the line might entice both wings of the Conservatives to put aside their differences, 'there isn't really a stable policy compromise that would make both of those sides happy' in the long-term, he said. 'In some really important ways, the divides between populist and more middle-of-the-road Conservatives are deeper than the divides between middle-of-the-road Conservatives and NDP, ' Prest said.
National Observer
07-07-2025
- Politics
- National Observer
BC Conservative Leader John Rustad is criticized from several sides amid review
Dave Sharkey still remembers how he felt about the future of the Conservative Party of BC when he was part of the delegation that marched in the 2022 Aldergrove Christmas Light Up Parade. "There were only four of us," Sharkey said. "Two of us were holding the banner, and the other two were handing out candy canes. But the reception was actually surprisingly positive, and it was a kind of experience that led me to believe that in terms of our political ambitions, we were on the right track." Sharkey, a party member since 2017 and a former provincial candidate for the Libertarian Party, now sees Conservatives on the wrong track. His conclusion comes despite the BC Conservatives coming within a whisker of forming government in October 2024 when 912,000 residents voted for the party that had just under 36,000 votes in the 2020 election. Sharkey said he blames the same man others credit for reviving a party that once polled at two per cent: Official Opposition Leader John Rustad. The party's direction and identity is at the heart of a dispute that set off the departure of three members of the legislature and arguments among riding associations. Should it be populist or moderate? Big tent or small? It also comes as party members review Rustad's leadership in accordance with the party's constitution. Rustad became the leader a month after joining the party in March 2023. He had been with the BC Liberals since 2005, but was kicked out in 2022 by then-leader Kevin Falcon. Relations between the rivals then reversed in August 2024, when Falcon suspended the election campaign of his party, rebranded as BC United, following the defections of members to the Conservatives. Now, Sharkey said, the Conservatives have become a rebranded version of Rustad's old party. There was no appetite from the members to be that big-tent party, he said. "There is an appetite from the members to remain a grassroots party, and if Mr. Rustad wants to be a big tent, start a big-tent party." He believes Rustad's changes cost the Conservatives the election win, said Sharkey, who considers himself the riding association president in Abbotsford-Mission. Domenic Cinalli describes himself as an early supporter and one-time close confidant of Rustad, but said he doesn't like the direction Rustad has taken the party. "He has abandoned what we all stood for," Cinalli said. "He's abandoned the strong stances that we had and it wasn't just John who brought us there. It was all the volunteers and the people who were out there fighting tooth and nail." Cinalli said he's disappointed about the party changed directions on reconciliation with First Nations and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity programming. "They have gone more mediocre, more to the middle," said Cinalli, who is no longer a party member. But for others, the Conservative tent isn't big enough. Ryan Beedie, a prominent Vancouver businessman, said in a social media post last month that the Conservatives will need to "rebrand to something more inclusive" if they wish to appeal to "centrist voters" just as Social Credit or the BC Liberals did in the past. A months-long leadership review is underway amid allegations from Rustad that three former Conservative MLAs — Tara Armstrong, Dallas Broadie and Jordan Keely — "blackmailed" Conservative staff. Rustad first made the allegation in a letter to his caucus without naming the MLAs directly. All three have denied the claims, and have instead accused Rustad of using the allegations to distract from questions about his leadership. While Rustad has since expressed regret for using the term blackmail, his critics have seized on it. Beedie said Rustad's allegations raise questions about his leadership and the party should use the review to move toward the middle. "Hopefully, this (review) is a positive step toward the BC Conservatives getting their house in order and shifting their political strategy to a more centrist approach. They will need to do so, or the BC NDP will be staying in power for the foreseeable future." UBC political science lecturer Stewart Prest said the Conservatives consist of a "populist" wing and a moderate wing, and the current riding-by-riding leadership vote could make for a "messy summer" with Rustad facing pressure from both sides. "We are already hearing rumblings of challenges from both camps, so I don't know if it is an either-or situation," Prest said, when asked which faction was more likely to challenge Rustad for leadership. A central source of criticism concerns the handling of the party's last annual general meeting held in March. The "Team Rustad" slate swept elections for the party's board of directors. Delegates also approved amendments to the party's constitution as proposed by Rustad. But not everybody has accepted the results, including Armstrong, Brodie and Kealy. Brodie was kicked out of caucus days after the general meeting for comments concerning residential school survivors and Armstrong and Kealy followed her in solidarity. In May, they alleged Rustad and his team "rigged" the meeting that endorsed the board, claiming it was stacked with South Asian supporters paid "to vote the way Mr. Rustad wanted." Brodie and Armstrong have since gone on to form their own party, One BC. Its chief of staff is Tim Thielmann, a former Conservative candidate in Victoria-Beacon Hill. After losing the election, Thielmann was fired from his party job as director of research. Thielmann later ran for party president at the AGM, but delegates re-elected current president Aisha Estey. The allegations surrounding the AGM received another airing last month when 50-plus signatories describing themselves as "executive members or former executive members" of riding associations called on Estey to launch an external audit of the AGM. The letter repeats the allegation that Team Rustad stacked the meeting with paid supporters, but also alleges that delegates were selected and rejected on the "basis of their political leanings or allegiance to Rustad." It alleges Rustad and the executive team increased the influence of party executive over the selection process by "improperly delaying, denying, or withdrawing certification of riding associations," and placing Rustad loyalists into ridings where they were not residents. Sharkey said he signed the letter because he believed procedures were not correctly followed and he regarded the whole meeting "to be illegitimate." Sharkey shared this view in March, when he stood outside the meeting in Nanaimo to protest it, where Aeriol Alderking, another signatory, had joined him. Alderking, who ran federally for the People's Party of Canada in the last federal election, said the AGM was the site of a "coup" where a "handful of people" under Rustad's leadership stole the party from "grassroots" Conservatives. "Under John Rustad, it has become a centralized BC Liberal Party top down," she said in an interview. "The only thing they have done is put a blue coat on a red party." A statement from the party said the letter is "signed largely by those who are not even members of the party, let alone (directors)." The "allegations are just as absurd as the notion of a letter written by non-members, signed mostly by non-members, made to artificially inflate a non-issue for the sake of attention and mudslinging," it said. Rustad has denied any wrongdoing at the meeting. "I have been advised by our legal counsel and experts, who were present to scrutinize the voting process that our AGM was 100 per cent in line with this party's 2024-2025 constitution," he said in the letter containing the blackmail allegations against the three former Conservative MLAs. Rustad said in an interview last month that critics like Sharkey and others "want this party to be something that it is not." "I have said this all way through the campaign, and I don't know why people haven't heard it — it's not about being Conservative or Liberal, or NDP, or Green. It's just standing for what's right and fighting for the average everyday people. That is the party that we have built," Rustad said. Conservative member of the legislature Gavin Dew said the current party "has had incredible success in building a new voter coalition" that includes many more young voters and more voters from different cultural communities. "We have made incredible strides with blue-collar voters," Dew added. "We do incredibly well with suburban voters. So, we have made all this progress, but it is clear that we still need to win over that incremental voters, which I would say is that middle-of-the-road voter." If the party holds its current coalition together and adds more "economically oriented voters" from the middle of the spectrum to this coalition, Conservatives can hold government for "multiple terms," Dew said in an interview. Prest is more skeptical. While strong poll numbers now and victory down the line might entice both wings of the Conservatives to put aside their differences, "there isn't really a stable policy compromise that would make both of those sides happy" in the long-term, he said. "In some really important ways, the divides between populist and more middle-of-the-road Conservatives are deeper than the divides between middle-of-the-road Conservatives and NDP, " Prest said.
Global News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Rustad faces ‘hot and uncomfortable summer' amid months-long leadership review
BC Conservative Leader John Rustad is staring down a 'very hot and uncomfortable summer' as he undergoes an unusually long leadership review, according to a UBC political scientist. The review, mandated by the party constitution, kicked off over the weekend — and comes amid messy infighting on British Columbia's political right. The process will see party members in each of B.C.'s 93 ridings vote on whether they want Rustad to stay as leader, a process Rustad said should wrap by December. 1:51 Conservative leader accuses political rivals of blackmail 'To go through every riding in a kind of mini-review seems like, in some ways, a worst-case scenario for a leader who is besieged, because it just means that it gives opponents time, space to organize,' UBC political science lecturer Stewart Prest told Global News. Story continues below advertisement 'It gives everyone with a grievance (a chance) to air that and to see whether others are feeling the same sort of thing. So it is going to be a very hot and uncomfortable summer, I would think, for Mr. Rustad.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The review comes as the province's political right, which unified behind Rustad and his upstart BC Conservatives ahead of last year's provincial election, faces fragmentation. Rustad is facing pressure over a leaked letter to the BC Conservative caucus accusing a group of former MLAs of 'blackmail.' Meanwhile, two former MLAs — Dallas Brodie, who was kicked out of the party for comments about residential schools, and Tara Armstrong, who quit in solidarity — have formed their own new OneBC party, with social and economic policies challenging Rustad's party's right flank. OneBC is also accusing Rustad of trying to manipulate the party's recent annual general meeting. 2:02 3 former B.C. Conservative MLAs speaking out Jordan Kealy, a third Conservative MLA who quit in solidarity but remains an independent, has also called for Rustad to step down. Story continues below advertisement And on Wednesday, B.C. business leader Ryan Beedie took aim at Rustad's leadership in a LinkedIn post, arguing the party needs to rebrand itself to appeal to centrist voters. At the same time, former BC United MLA Karin Kirkpatrick has launched her own party, CentreBC, hoping to attract those centrist voters. 'This isn't just behind-the-scenes backroom politics; it is out in the open, we have a BC Conservative Party that is fragmented,' Prest said. 'As long as the conservative movement is essentially eating its own and dealing with the infighting, the NDP more or less gets to skate through.' Prest said British Columbia's political right tends to only come together and unify around the promise of victory, and to get the party's populist and moderate wings back on the same page Rustad needs to find a way to change the conversation from his own leadership to that of the NDP government. It's a challenge he said will be magnified by the lengthy leadership review process. Rustad is scheduled to speak with the media following a caucus meeting Wednesday evening.
