John Rustad has survived a leadership review by the B.C. Conservatives.
The party said more than 70 per cent of members across the province’s 93 ridings approved of Rustad staying on as leader. Just over 29 per cent voted “no” on whether he should remain.
Party members across B.C. have been voting riding by riding throughout the summer, rather than at a party-wide convention.
According to the party’s constitution says a leadership election would have been triggered if Rustad received 50 per cent approval or less.
The party said 1,268 of its members in good standing took part in the vote.
Rustad secured 78 ridings but lost in ten. Three ridings were tied and there were two ridings where no votes were cast.
Rustad thanked members for voting in a statement released Monday. “This process has localized democracy and allowed all members to not only vote in this crucial review, but share their concerns with me directly,” he said.
“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. We will make it happen,” said Rustad. “It’s time we get back to the basics and be Conservative.”
The party said the vote count process was conducted by an impartial third party. Returning Officer Mark Robertson managed the administering of the Leadership Review process.
More members voted in favour of Rustad’s policies than for Rustad’s leadership itself. The party said about 80 per cent of members agreed with eleven policy points that Rustad has made a priority. Those include tougher penalties for repeat offenders, more stringent ID rules during elections, repealing DRIPA, and banning medical transitioning for children under 18.
The leadership review came amid a turbulent year for Rustad and the B.C. Conservative party as a whole.
Rustad grappled with the fallout of a leaked memo in June containing blackmail allegations against former members of his party who have publicly criticized his leadership.
MLAs Dallas Brodie and Tara Armstrong, who sat as Independents, launched their own party, OneBC, that month.
Brodie was expelled from the party in March after comments she made on a podcast about residential school survivors. Armstrong and MLA Jordan Kealy left the party shortly afterward.
A new controversy emerged last week after reports that over 2,000 new members signed up to vote in the leadership review in Kelowna within a short time span – all with unusually similar email addresses and phone numbers.
B.C. Conservative MLA Peter Milobar of Kamloops Centre said some of the controversies were “troubling.”
“I have some concerns in terms of making sure that we are, as a BC Conservative caucus, always functioning at the highest level of integrity and always making sure that the public has their faith in us,” said Milobar on Sept. 15.
Milobar also confirmed an apology email had been sent from Rustad after a Sept. 12 caucus meeting. In the email, Rustad allegedly apologizes for repeating a rumour that an individual had a relationship with someone in the Conservative office, according to a screenshot of the email posted on social media.
