Sunday March 2, 2025 | NANAIMO, BC [Filed from VICTORIA, BC] | Posted at 6 am | Updated 12:35 pm
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The Conservative Party of BC Annual General Meeting was held in Nanaimo on Saturday. About 750 delegates attended.
For the most part, the party continues to rally behind their leader John Rustad, who brought the party from nearly nothing to nearly a majority in the past year.
The re-emergent party managed to elect 44 MLAs in the October 2024 provincial election, very nearly toppling the NDP government which had hoped to achieve re-election as a strong majority but emerged with 47 MLAs and found themselves needing to pair up with the BC Greens (with two MLAs) to achieve some governing stability.
Rustad was able to articulate the needs of the broader BC population, as noted by NDP Leader David Eby after the election results rolled in on October 28, 2024.
Rustad’s vision:
Rustad achieved continued support as party leader at the March 1 AGM.
“An overwhelming majority of Conservative Party of BC members have voted to pass John Rustad’s endorsed constitution,” it was stated in a party news release on Saturday afternoon.
Some policies passed at the AGM included promises to remove all sexual orientation and gender identity materials from schools, implementing a waiting-time guarantee for people with certain health conditions, and introducing strong measures against antisemitism, as well as undoing BC’s commitment to the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and development of a nuclear energy strategy.
The party considers this to be “a major endorsement of John Rustad’s vision and strong leadership of the Conservative Party of BC,” it was stated in the March 1 news release.
Party president Aisha Estey called it a “strong endorsement” for what she calls “John’s grassroots, common sense vision that has built our party”.
Party-building:
Buylding party numbers was a key objective in the 2024 provincial election, and Rustad repeated what he tries to present as a ‘blind’ stance as to political stripe regardless of how entirely unrealistic that is: “It’s not about being Conservative. It’s not about being Liberal or NDP or Green. We have to stand for what’s right.”
“We have to fight for the everyday person,” said Rustad.
Legislative disruption:
Some of that ‘fight’ gets taken to the BC Legislative Assembly chamber where, for the most part, Rustad has led a disruptive attack on the BC NDP government side of the house.
Heckling and interruptions that have continued since the House returned on February 19 — to the point where the Speaker doesn’t even interrupt NDP ministers who now usually just keep talking over the disruption.
Party grumblings:
There was some dissatisfaction at the AGM, including that memberships of some grassroots activists had been revoked, that some candidates had been brought into ridings without consulting local riding associations, and that the sudden falling out of the BC United was actually orchestrated as a way to push out some candidates in the 2024 provincial election.
But that seems to be ‘history’ now, and the party is moving forward.
Party leadership:
The Conservative Party of BC executive was elected on March 1 as: Aisha Estey, President (re-elected); Wes Graham, vice-president, Robert McRudden, treasurer; and Ndellie Massey, secretary.
All five director-at-large candidates were successful in being voted to the board: Tory Lanigan, Sacha Peter, Andrew Roberte, John Wilson, and Pavneet Singh.
Last fall, John Wilson ran as the BC Conservative candidate in Esquimalt-Colwood and Pavneet Singh ran in Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream.
Board members will now be elected every two years, instead of every year. Rustad tried to shift that to a four-year term noting the cost of about “a million dollars plus” to run an AGM. Four years would have clearly been too top-heavy for a membership that still seeks movement and change.
===== RELATED:
- BC Legislature 2025: New session, same old heckling (February 19, 2025)
- BC Conservatives seek 2024 election review claiming ‘irregularities’ (January 9, 2025)
- BC Conservatives announce their shadow cabinet (November 20, 2024)
- John Wilson could achieve an upset in Esquimalt-Colwood (September 12, 2024)
- NEWS SECTIONS: BC CONSERVATIVES | 43rd BC PARLIAMENT | 2024 BC PROVINCIAL ELECTION