EXCLUSIVE: BC Conservative MLAs speak out on Rustad’s rocky leadership

Several MLAs from the Conservative Party of British Columbia have unleashed blistering criticism of party leader John Rustad, accusing him of having allegedly “misled” his caucus.

Source: X

With files from Cosmin Dzsurdzsa

Several MLAs from the Conservative Party of British Columbia have unleashed blistering criticism of party leader John Rustad, accusing him of having allegedly “misled” his caucus, letting the party be “taken over” by remnants of the now-defunct BC United and for questioning a departing MLA’s mental health.

The BC Conservative MLAs who offered exclusive commentary to True North requested to speak anonymously and to have their comments published without attribution on the heels of MLA Amelia Boultbee’s surprise departure from the BC Conservative caucus.

On Monday, the Penticton Summerland MLA became the fifth member of the BC Conservative Party to announce her departure from the party, citing Rustad’s “unravelling” as one of the reasons behind her decision.

Boultbee told the media her decision came after Rustad told her that if she didn’t like his leadership, she should “get the F- out.”

Rustad responded to her resignation by raising doubts about her mental health. Boultbee had previously held the role of child and family critic and subsequently citizens’ services critic.

If the anonymous accounts provided to True North are any indication, Boultbee’s departure and Rustad’s combative response have exposed a deeper fracture inside the party over Rustad’s continued leadership.

“What leadership? There is none,” said one MLA. “It’s been nothing but kicking the can down the road. (There’s) no direction, no conviction, no principles. It’s just drifting.”

Another MLA accused Rustad of allegedly misleading caucus members on several occasions and mishandling internal crises.

“To be polite, John has misled the caucus on several issues,” the MLA alleged.

“From telling the caucus people had been fired from their jobs and simply moving them to a different position, denying he knew that the Kelowna sign ups were fake, to changing his story about why a pregnant staffer was fired and not put on maternity leave after he found out the firing had been recorded. And now he says an MLA that left was a terrorist sympathizer with mental health problems.”

The MLA added, “If it’s true, why was that tolerated in his caucus? And if it’s not, why would he say it publicly? Either way it’s an embarrassment.”

Another MLA chimed in on Boultbee’s departure and how the BC Conservative leader responded to it.

“What he’s done today, shooting from the hip like he did. I don’t understand it,” said the MLA.

The same MLA said Boultbee’s departure from the BC Conservative caucus “should have been a sure-fire win,” alleging that their former colleague, Boultbee, was someone that “disagreed with the (BC Conservatives) on 90% of the issues.”

“Over the last three weeks we have seen polls going from us leading by a good margin to some having us trailing by up to 7 per cent. Issue after issue we have been behind on, and turned away from our supporters. John has handed over the caucus to the BC United that destroyed their last party and continue to say we can’t respond to the baseless attacks from the NDP,” the MLA added, referencing the latest Abacus Data poll released on the same day as Boultbee’s announcement.

“I believe John Rustad is a decent man, with a horrible judge of character. I don’t know who advised him on his response to Amelia Boultbee, but I suspect it was the BC United portion of our caucus.”

Rustad’s ascension to leader of the official opposition came after he was booted by former BC Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon over comments he made on climate change.

Under Falcon’s leadership of the also defunct BC Liberals, the right-of-centre party rebranded as BC United before withdrawing from the election altogether and backing Rustad’s fledgling Conservative Party of British Columbia.

“This was the same response that Kevin Falcon gave when an MLA left his caucus and it went over just as well,” the anonymous MLA elaborated.

“John has handed over the caucus to the BC United that destroyed their last party and continues to say we can’t respond to the baseless attacks from the NDP.”

The MLA then referenced Rustad’s decision to whip the BC Conservative caucus to depart the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia chamber when a vote to denounce the Christian advocacy group Association for Reformed Political Action took place. MLAs within the BC Conservative caucus have been involved with the group.

“Those are easy wins, I mean take their attack on the Christian group that came to the Legislature. They espoused the same beliefs as the Muslims, Sihks, Hindus and Jews. I know that other organizations from these religious communities contacted our party and expressed their concern that we did not push back against this attack on all religions,” said the MLA.

Tensions also flared over the party’s lack of transparency and top-down control. Another MLA blasted Rustad for publicly commenting on confidential internal matters while expecting his caucus to adhere to strict confidentiality.

“It’s outrageous that we have strict caucus confidentiality but John goes on CBC to discuss what happens at meetings,” one source said.

“When you tell people they are free to speak but the first time someone on staff does that, you fire them.”

The internal revolt comes at a perilous time for the BC Conservatives. Following a razor-thin victory for the incumbent BC NDP in the last provincial election, the party has struggled to grow its support in key regions while Premier David Eby governs without effective opposition despite low approval.

Polls that once showed the Conservatives with a healthy lead have recently swung in favour of the NDP, with some surveys showing Eby tied or performing better than Rustad on traditionally conservative issues like crime and the economy.

Boultbee’s departure has amplified these tensions, raising questions about whether Rustad can hold the party together or whether his leadership will accelerate a split on the right.

“If we’re not being conservative, then we should change our name,” said one MLA bluntly.