BC Conservatives vote to keep John Rustad as leader

John Rustad passes leadership review with more than 70 per cent of members voting “Yes” to whether he should remain as leader of the BC Conservatives.

The Conservative Party of BC said in a press release that 1,268 members in total participated in the leadership review across the province.

Rustad won a majority of “Yes” votes in 78 out of 93 ridings.

However, he lost in 10 ridings, tied in three, and no votes were cast in two ridings.

“I believe the members have given me a mandate to lead, and I believe British Columbians are hungry for an unapologetic common-sense Conservative government,” Rustad said.

“We will make it happen. It’s time we get back to the basics and be Conservative.”

The vote count, which is the core part of the routine leadership review, was conducted by Mark Robertson, a third-party returning officer

Additionally, 80 per cent of voters agreed with Rustad’s 11-point leadership pledge.

This platform includes a ban on open drug use near homes and schools, to cut taxes, and to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).

“It’s not a resounding victory”

UBC Political Science lecturer Stewart Prest says Rustad now has to focus on turning the attention off him and on to the NDP.

“All of that is contingent on the party remaining united and not having more public flare-ups going forward, and there’s no guarantee of that,” Prest said.

“It’s not a resounding victory, so we still may hear some mutters about whether he should stay on, and that’s heightened because of the allegations of ballot dancing around this race.”

The leadership review turned controversial last week after leaked data showed thousands of questionable member sign-ups, sparking claims of a rigged vote.

Still, Rustad calls the results a clear mandate to lead.

“There’s no clear case to pose the leader or for him to resign, but it doesn’t show that the whole party is behind him either,” Prest said.

With files from Michael Williams.