Despite rumours of discontent with John Rustad's leadership in the B.C. Conservative caucus 鈥� amplified on social media, unconfirmed by MLAs 鈥� the party's executive director explains that the leadership review process does not leave it up to sitting legislators.
A province-wide leadership review is required by the party's constitution following an election, with the exception being if the Conservatives form government or the leader was elected within the previous 12 months. This review is already underway, and involves riding-by-riding votes among all party members.
Barring resignation, incapacitation or death, Rustad can't be voted out until the review is complete 鈥� at which point a leadership election would be triggered.
"Technically, it would not be possible until the fall," said Angelo Isidorou, the executive director of the Conservative Party of B.C.
The rules for B.C. Conservative Party leadership reviews were adopted at the most recent party Annual General Meeting (AGM) on March 1. Before a new party constitution was voted in at the AGM, Isidorou said leadership reviews were not well-defined.
This is because some of the old party processes date back to a time when the B.C. Conservative Party was much smaller. In 2020, it was polling at roughly two per cent. In 2024, the party captured more than 43 per cent of the vote.
"The constitution that we were working off of is essentially the constitution that the party had when it was, like, at two per cent with 100 members," he said.
To be eligible to participate in the review process, voters must be party members in good standing for at least 21 days prior. Isidorou said there are approximately 9,000 current members.
With limited staff and resources and 93 ridings, the party spread the votes out over several months. Once the votes are all collected, they are certified by another vote at the next AGM.
So far, three ridings have voted, all in the Kootenays, with 90 more to go. Isidorou said the logistics for the remaining ridings are still being worked out, so there is no set date for the review to be wrapped up yet.
The wording on ballots asks simply if people are in favour of Rustad's leadership. If fewer than 51 per cent of them say yes, a leadership election is triggered.
The next AGM will be sometime in the fall, but has not yet been scheduled.
A tough couple of weeks, then questions about leadership
Over the past two weeks, the B.C. Conservatives have endured an acrimonious back-and-forth with three former caucus members who left in March, two of whom have now formed the One B.C. party.
The exiles made accusations of vote-rigging by Rustad allies at the March AGM, while a leaked letter from Rustad to his caucus accused the three former members and their associates of trying to blackmail staffers and Conservative MLAs with secret recordings.
Rumours of internal discontent were amplified on Friday in a series of by Jas Johal, a media personality and former B.C. Liberal MLA. Rustad was kicked out of Johal's party in 2022 for questioning climate change science.
In his post, Johal references several potential leadership candidates 鈥� including 琉璃神社-Mission MLA Gavin Dew 鈥� while highlighting posts from other people that suggest MLAs could vote Rustad out. According to the party constitution, the leader can only be removed by a vote of all party members, as described by Isidorou.
Nevertheless, Isidorou said that from his perspective, the MLAs do not appear unhappy. And he said the party executive has the "utmost confidence" in Rustad as leader.
"I think the rumour mill runs wild," he said.
A spokesperson for Rustad said he did not think it appropriate to comment on his leadership review.
Dew called the questions about Rustad's leadership a "distraction," but ultimately gave his thoughts on the issue when pressed by reporters in a press conference in 琉璃神社 on Monday (June 24).
"We all have confidence in John Rustad," Dew said. "We all have confidence in leadership. We all want to make sure that our party is set up for success."
BC Conservative MLAs Kristina Loewen and Macklin McCall agreed. McCall said this issue "blew up really quickly."
"I have total confidence in my party and my leader and my colleagues," McCall said.
