B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad to face scheduled leadership review amid infighting

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 23, 2025 11:13 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad is acceptable to look a enactment reappraisal this summertime arsenic the province's centre-right enactment is embroiled by allegations of blackmail and astatine slightest 2 splinter parties.

Rustad's enactment reappraisal is portion of the party's constitution, and dissimilar galore different parties, volition not instrumentality spot astatine a ample convention.

Instead, the votes volition hap connected a riding-by-riding basis, and the results volition beryllium announced astatine a normal successful the fall. Rustad tin lone beryllium removed if helium receives little than 50 per cent enactment successful the review.

His enactment has been rocked precocious by allegations of blackmail, with a leaked missive from Rustad containing accusations that MLAs who near to signifier their ain party, OneBC, had threatened to merchandise substance messages and alleged concealed recordings from Tory staff.

WATCH | OneBC responds to blackmail allegations from Rustad: 

A governmental idiosyncratic says that Rustad continues to look issues uniting the mean and societal blimpish elements of his party, adjacent arsenic 1 of his party's MLAs said the caucus supports him.

Aisha Estey, president of the B.C. Conservative Party, said the enactment was having riding-by-riding enactment votes to facilitate manned voting stations and springiness its thousands of members a 30-day announcement period.

"This is purely a practical necessity that it takes spot implicit the summer, due to the fact that we person galore ridings to get to and it'll instrumentality a spot of time," she told CBC News.

Party members successful the Kootenay-Rockies riding voted connected Saturday, and different ballot is acceptable to instrumentality spot successful Surrey connected June 30.

The nonstop day for aboriginal votes and of the autumn enactment normal person not been announced.

Blackmail allegations

In an undated letter written by Rustad, leaked to media past week, the person says that 3 MLAs who near the party's caucus had threatened to merchandise texts to blackmail some B.C. Conservative caucus unit into quitting and moving for them. CBC News has verified the missive was sent by the Tory person to his caucus.

In the letter, Rustad described the behaviour arsenic "unethical, abusive, and perchance criminal." The Tory person has, frankincense far, not commented publically astir the letter, which was seen to notation the splinter OneBC party formed by 2 erstwhile Tory MLAs, Dallas Brodie and Tara Armstrong.

Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Brodie was kicked retired of the Conservative caucus in March for her statements astir residential schools. Armstrong, of Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream, and Jordan Kealy of Peace River North left the party shortly aft successful solidarity.

WATCH | OneBC forms to tribunal societal conservatives: 

All 3 person denied that they engaged successful blackmail, pointing retired that Rustad has not produced immoderate grounds to enactment his claims. The B.C. NDP has written to the RCMP to inquire it to investigate the claims.

Estey dubbed the blackmail allegations an "unfortunate distraction from the outside" that was having precise small effect connected enactment members internally.

"I deliberation that our MLAs person been doing a fantastic occupation nether John's enactment successful the legislature, and successful question period, holding the NDP to account," she said. "So I deliberation mostly we're beauteous confident."

At an unrelated quality league connected Monday, Kelowna-Mission MLA Gavin Dew was asked whether helium had assurance successful Rustad.

"I deliberation we each person assurance successful John Rustad ... we each privation to marque definite that our enactment is acceptable up for success, and we each privation to marque definite that we're focused connected the task astatine hand," helium said.

Prof says infighting to continue

In summation to OneBC, which is aiming to appeal to societal conservatives, erstwhile B.C. Liberal MLA Karin Kirkpatrick has acceptable up Centre B.C. to entreaty to much mean centre-right voters who don't privation to ballot Conservative.

Stewart Prest, a governmental idiosyncratic astatine the University of B.C., says that Rustad volition proceed to face an uphill battle successful uniting moderate and societal Conservatives within his party.

"The enactment of Mr. Rustad is fraught, and determination is nary casual mode to bring ... these 2 factions backmost unneurotic again, prevention the committedness of imminent victory. And we don't person that astatine the moment," helium said. "And so, I deliberation the infighting volition continue."

"It whitethorn not emergence to the level of idiosyncratic really campaigning openly for Mr. Rustad's job, but I would expect determination would beryllium grumblings connected some sides of that divide."