BC Conservative leader visits Kamloops as the party preps for possible spring election

Nov 27, 2023 | 6:20 PM

KAMLOOPS — Conservative Party of BC Leader John Rustad was in Kamloops over the weekend, as he and his party make preparations for an expected provincial election that many are suggesting will take place in the spring of 2024.

“David Eby and the NDP are really jamming through all kinds of legislation. A lot of it, quite frankly, won’t take place until later in the spring, and I think what they’re trying to do is clear the decks for a spring election,” Rustad explains. “I’m here in Kamloops [this weekend] meeting with constituents and meeting with individuals who are interested in putting their name forward for running, and of course having a little bit of a rally and raising some money for the Conservative Party of British Columbia.”

Rustad was acclaimed as the Conservative Party of BC leader in March, after leaving the BC Liberals in mid-February. On Sept. 13, BC United MLA Bruce Banman crossed the floor to join the Conservatives, which gave the party two MLAs in the legislature — enough for official party status.

“The last time [the Conservative Party of BC] formed government was 1927, so we’re really bringing life into this,” Rustad suggests. “It’s a grassroots movement, in terms of the Conservative Party in British Columbia. And every decade or two, every generation or two, we see a shift in politics and I think we’re seeing that now. The [BC] United party is old and it’s tired; it doesn’t have new ideas. People are looking for change, and that’s what we’re offering them in this province. Just a party that’s going to stand for the average, everyday person. Standing up for what’s right and being straightforward with people.”