BREAKING: BC Conservative board members call for Rustad to “resign immediately”

BC Conservative leader John Rustad has said he will not be stepping down after seven members of the party board’s Management Committee formally called on him to resign.

Source: Facebook

BC Conservative leader John Rustad has said he will not be stepping down after seven members of the party board’s Management Committee formally called on him to resign, citing “unprecedented turmoil,” “prolonged discord” and a collapse in party unity since last year’s provincial election.

In a letter dated October 21, 2025, and addressed directly to Rustad, the signatories include elected board members Aisha Estey, Wesley Graham, Ndellie Massey, Troy Lanigan, Sacha Peter, Mauro Francis, and Andre Roberge.

The only elected board member not to sign their name on the document was Pavneet Singh.

“The current sitting members of the Management Committee of the Board of Directors cease to have confidence in your leadership. We ask that you immediately step down as leader, allowing for a subsequent leadership contest to choose a new leader to take the party into the next provincial election.”

Rustad has responded by saying he “does not plan to step down”, according to CTV reporter Robert Buffalo.

The board members delivered a scathing assessment of Rustad’s leadership, accusing him of driving the party into chaos through “a series of decisions and actions” that have “destabilized the party’s internal cohesion and diminished its public credibility.”

“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,” the letter reads.

The Management Committee members point to sagging poll numbers, declining membership, weak fundraising, and a “shrinking caucus and staff” as evidence of a deepening crisis under Rustad’s watch. They also cite a “lack of enthusiasm and tepid endorsement” from the grassroots, a devastating critique in a party that once prided itself on its growing momentum as the province’s main conservative alternative to the NDP.

While the letter thanks Rustad for helping build the BC Conservatives into the largest official opposition in provincial history, the authors make it clear his leadership is no longer tenable.

“It’s now time for a next chapter,” they write, “to take our shared vision of a Conservative government in British Columbia across the finish line.”

The move signals a dramatic internal revolt against Rustad, who took over the party’s leadership in 2022 and led it to a historic result in the 2024 election. However, insiders say tensions have been mounting for months over what many describe as erratic decision-making, firing staffers who voice conservative opinions and a flurry of MLAs abandoning his caucus.

Rustad has not yet publicly responded to the board’s call for his resignation.