Onward and rightward is the direction one former member of the B.C. Conservatives believes the party should go following the resignation of its leader.
After a chaotic midweek in Victoria, John Rustad, the now-former leader of the B.C. Conservatives and leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, resigned. Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford was selected by the caucus to replace Rustad.
Initially, Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy ran under Rustad’s leadership, but the now independent member said he believes the tides turned within the party last year. The caucus’ decision to elect a former member of the B.C. Liberals furthers this leftward shift, he said.
Halford was initially elected as a Liberal in 2020, but ran, and was reelected, in the most recent provincial election as a member of the party he will now lead.
“It’s interesting that when I first joined the party, it was a solid conservative party. We saw the consolidation after about nine months of the Liberal party into it. With that, we’re seeing an interim leader as one of those Liberals,” explained Kealy.
“One of the reasons I actually ran for the Conservative Party (is) I thought they’d really deliver on the main items that we platformed for, and they haven’t.”
The former leader of the Official Opposition preemptively addressed concerns from conservative-minded British Columbians in his resignation.
“I want to assure every member and supporter of the caucus and the party that this was not a hostile takeover by B.C. Liberals. We remain a Conservative party, committed to a vision of a common-sense Conservative government in B.C.,” wrote Rustad.
If the party switches gears and shifts back to the right, the way Kealy and conservatives desire, he said he would be curious to see if it addresses relevant issues.
“I see that the Liberal’s core values have never really benefited our region. They’ve always benefited the lower mainland. I think if they had a strong, conservative, common sense leader coming in, that would be something that I could see supporting. I’ll wait and see what happens.”
The B.C. Conservatives confirmed they will elect a permanent leader, though no timeline has been established.
