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By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Is the BC Conservative party imploding?

Sep 25, 2025 | 6:00 AM

IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE BC Conservative party is undergoing a bit of an upheaval despite a recent review that gave leader John Rustad a vote of confidence. The party says 71 percent of party members supported Rustad as party leader.

You would think that would end any debate on the issue. Seventy-one per cent is okay but it’s not a ringing endorsement. I think it points out that there is still work to be done if the party is to remain a force in BC politics.

There are a number of issues at play here. When Kevin Falcon blew up the BC United party, United MLAs had to find a new place to call home. Many gravitated to the Conservatives, who were growing in popularity and seemed about to oust BC United as the official opposition. It seemed to many that if the United MLAs joined with the Conservatives, they would have a chance to knock off the vaunted NDP, who were in their own restructuring under David Eby, a much different personality than the much-loved John Horgan.

The NDP won the election, with the Conservatives coming close. Soon after, some of the old-line Conservatives started complaining that this new influx of previously United MLAs was changing the core values of the party. Along with that, some MLAs were expressing doubts that Rustad would be a good leader in the long term. Thus, the leadership review.

But the vote in favour doesn’t mean the infighting is over. At least three MLAs had either left the party or been kicked out for a variety of reasons. But the biggest blow so far occurred on the weekend, when one of the party’s strongest MLAs, Elenore Sturko, was unceremoniously fired and kicked out of the caucus. Rustad claimed Sturko was plotting to unseat him. Sturko admitted she had talked to other MLAs about Rustad but denied plotting to unseat him.

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Sturko would have been a strong candidate to replace Rustad if the vote had worked out differently. That would have provided an interesting scenario for the old-time Conservatives. Prior to the BC United defection, the Conservatives had a groundswell of support but most of the members were a ragtag army of unhappy voters looking for change, with only a relative few being experienced or strong enough to sit in the legislature.

So what now? Well, they have to find more strong voices. Kamloops MLA Peter Milobar, who holds the key finance critic job, has been on the air more than Rustad. Sturko has also been busy on the air as well. Would Milobar be willing to take a shot at the leadership? Would he want that? How do his views line up with those of the party? Who else is there? The odd one or two, but not many. It seems that the party would rather stay with a known quantity in John Rustad, despite some questions about his strength as leader, rather than take a chance on someone who may want to lead the party in a new direction.

Elenore Sturko will be missed in caucus but the party will have time to groom others before the next election. If Rustad sticks around — and all speculation says he will — he needs to do a better job of making the party a tight, cohesive group — all on the same page, forging ahead as one strong party as opposed to a number of individual cliques as seems to be the case right now. If he can’t do that, he won’t be around for long, but if he can, they could well form the next government.

All eyes will be on the Conservatives in the next year or so, to see if the party has the staying power to run the show.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.