John Rustad said he is resigning as Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia and as Leader of the official Opposition.
“I am proud of what we have built and proud of the team of Conservative MLAs who now represent communities across British Columbia,” said Rustad in the release Thursday morning.
The announcement came a day after the party said a majority of the caucus no longer had confidence in Rustad’s leadership and he had been removed as party leader.
It said Surrey–White Rock MLA Trevor Halford was selected as interim leader in a caucus vote, and a leadership race will take place.
The party statement followed the release of a letter by a lawyer representing more than half of Conservative caucus members, informing party President Aisha Estey they have lost confidence in Rustad as a leader.
The letter, signed by 20 unnamed MLAs, called for Rustad to step down and be replaced by an interim leader.
Rustad had said immediately following the news on Wednesday that he had no plans to step down. But now he says he’s bowing out.
“I know many are concerned by what they saw yesterday, but I want to assure every member and supporter of the caucus and the party that this was not a hostile takeover by BC Liberals. We remain a Conservative party, committed to a vision of a common-sense Conservative government in BC,” said Rustad.
More to come.
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