John Rustad: Phoenix from the ashes

Written By Fran Yanor
Published

On the eve of a B.C. election with the NDP and Conservatives deadlocked in a pitched contest to win voters’ trust, we spent a couple of days on the road with the least-known contender for premier – John Rustad.

Just who is this guy? Where did he come from? And how did he get here so fast?


The first time John Rustad stood up in Question Period as Leader of the Fourth Party last year, he upended the status quo in the legislature and dropped it on its head. With one question, he set in motion a chain of events that would upheave the political landscape of British Columbia. 

The BC NDP have been scrambling to wrest control of the narrative ever since. 

The loaded question that set off this maelstrom of change was lobbed like a softball into the BC NDP caucus ranks, but it landed like a grenade.

“Parents are concerned about the sexualization of their children in this NDP government’s education system,” Rustad told legislators on Oct. 3, 2023, with his characteristic even-keeled delivery. 

“Will the minister admit that SOGI 123 has been divisive, an assault on parents’ rights, and a distraction on student education?”

Instead of someone, the premier maybe, recognizing the question for what it was – a genuine, if provocatively phrased, concern of some very upset citizens of the province – David Eby dove on it like he was saving the world from a bomb and gaslit for dear life. 

“I welcome the member to the House as the leader of his new party, but I’ve got to say, this is not an auspicious start,” Eby admonished.

“I’ve got to say, this is not an auspicious start.”

David Eby

“To come into this place, to use the authority of his office, his new party, to find a small group of kids in our province, to leverage all of that — to make them feel less safe at school, less safe in our community, to feed the fires of division in our province and bring culture war to British Columbia. 

“It is not welcome.”

The Premier, as it turns out, was wrong. On both counts. 

Rustad’s reincarnation from BC United persona non grata to leader of a provincial party, and the ensuing regeneration of the BC Conservatives into a government contender was nothing short of auspicious. 

While the crowd in Victoria’s legislative bubble were aghast at Rustad’s temerity in daring broach a topic deemed off-limits by the NDP government, a good many British Columbians cheered. 

Not because they all cared about SOGI or its impact in the schools, although some did, ardently. But because finally they heard someone, a politician yet, pushing back at the increasingly censorious powers-that-be.

‘Mob moment’

Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities is a fervently held core-policy belief for the BC NDP. For them, critics and protesters of its implementation fall into two camps: mean-spirited or morally corrupt.

“[Rustad] sees political advantage in picking on kids and families and teachers and schools who are just trying to do their best for kids who are at risk of suicide,” Eby said, sidestepping Rustad’s question.

“Shame on him. Choose another question.”

At this, a bizarre thing happened. 

Nearly every MLA – BC Greens and BC United as well – jumped to their feet raining shame down on Rustad in what one Opposition member recounted as a regrettable “mob moment,” where all but three BC United legislators (by media count), felt pressured to join in lest they too be labelled bullies of the marginalized. 

It was a strange and unprecedented sight from the press gallery perch above the melee, to watch mild-mannered Rustad bombarded by jeers, insults, and cries of ‘Shame!’ from both sides of the aisle, including peers he’d served with relatively uneventfully for years, in some cases, decades.

“Shame on him. Choose another question.”

David Eby

The legislative speaker was helpless, in shock, or disinclined to interrupt as full-throated shouting continued unabated at top volume, amplified by the acoustics of the cavernous, marble-walled room, in what Rustad later dubbed a “uni-party” response.

“What I find most offensive is the division… being created by what this government is implementing,” Rustad said when high emotions receded. “There are thousands of people taking to the streets. There are thousands of people protesting [SOGI] at school board offices.”

Would the premier and education minister at least consider replacing SOGI with “a less divisive approach to anti-bullying in our schools?” he asked again.

No, they would not.

And so it was foretold

In hindsight, the whole 2024 election was foreshadowed in the legislature that first fateful day: The Conservative rise, the United’s freefall, and the NDP’s staggering loss of voter confidence.

All the key elements were there: Eby’s aggressive smear-attack on Rustad, which became a hallmark of the NDP 2024 election campaign; the confused response from BC United caucus that signalled a party in the throes of a fatal identity crisis; and the disruptive power of the Conservatives, a party so nimble and receptive to public sentiment, it was crafting its policies in real time.

Then there was the dramatic emergence of this new guy, Rustad 2.0, as if from nowhere. 

Out of the ashes…

But Rustad did not appear out-of-the-blue in B.C.’s political arena, even if his dramatic entrance as leader of an official provincial party made it seem so. The straight-talking, low-key northerner had been walking the legislative hallways for a good long while before he incited an uproar from MLAs last September. 

John Rustad after addressing a business group in Victoria. [Photo Chad Hipolito]

Rustad was elected BC Liberal MLA for Prince George–Omineca in 2005 [later Nechako Lakes] and served in government under Gordon Campbell, then Christie Clark, for 12 years. First as a backbencher, then parliamentary assistant of Forests, and for the final four years as Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation minister, and for a short time also as Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. When the BC NDP and BC Greens formed a minority government in 2017, he moved to the Opposition bench and worked as forestry critic.

In August 2022, BC Liberal (later, BC United) Leader Kevin Falcon relieved Rustad of his caucus membership. On his birthday, yet. Ostensibly fired for “not being a team player” and for reposting a tweet skeptical of climate change science, the ouster transformed a seasoned MLA with 17-years tenure into a political pariah.

As an Independent, Rustad was banished to a tiny windowless office in the legislative basement beside the old jail cell (the legislature is a beautiful, crazy old building). Given his new negligible standing, he was awarded dramatically reduced staff and minimal resources. He got one question every two weeks in Question Period. 

Things looked bleak.

“2022 was a tough year,” Rustad conceded in an interview. 

“My father died in January. My father-in-law died in February. My mom died in July. I mean, they all lived good, long lives, but still. And I had shingles in April.”

“That was when I was just like, ‘Okay, this is crazy. Why am I still doing this?’” 

Ta-da! Wait… John Rustad?

Rustad isn’t known for seeking the limelight nor for his moving or shaking. Even after stepping into the BC Conservative leadership, his presence is still surprisingly unobtrusive. Always friendly, quick to smile, calm, laidback, he listens more than he talks. Nothing hey-look-at-me about him.

A former BC United colleague said he could be difficult, stubborn at times, and tenacious during caucus discussions or on issues he felt strongly about, refusing to give ground if he felt he was right about a policy or position. But no one has accused him of being overly ambitious.

Rustad heads to his office in the parliamentary basement. [Photo Chad Hipolito]

Unlike his NDP opponent, Eby, who was long known to have had his eye on the top job, Rustad doesn’t appear to have harboured leadership aspirations. He didn’t run for leader of the BC Liberal party the last time the job came up. In fact, he supported Skeena MLA Ellis Ross in his leadership run. Ross came in second and is now a star federal Conservative candidate, widely expected to get a cabinet post if he wins. 

The two remain good friends. But now unexpectedly, Rustad finds himself the leader of a party that, in two short weeks, may well be tasked with forming B.C.’s next government. 

No one is more surprised than everyone who knew him

Like an ‘overnight sensation’ who played the bars for years before suddenly vaulting into the public consciousness with a hit song, Rustad had served legislative stage right for nearly two decades before stepping into the spotlight and suddenly belting out a tune. 

Where had he been all this time?

“I love to be underestimated,” he answered with a sideways smile in a quiet moment after an event.

20 years is a long time to be underestimated.

“You sit down and you just stay focused.” He shrugged. “You do the work you’ve been asked to do.” 

And now, here he is. Doing the work in front of him.

‘Eternal optimist’

Back in the legislature last October though, no one, except maybe Rustad himself, imagined the all-but-written-off BC Conservative Party would be seriously vying for government a year later. 

“Every generation or two in B.C. politics, we see a shift in political parties. We’re seeing this shift again. And I guess it’ll be up to the voters to decide if that shift is going to take one election or two elections,” Rustad said in an interview with Northern Beat last December. 

Rustad in his office at the legislature. [Photo Chad Hipolito]

“To John’s credit, he’s always been the eternal optimist talking about this,” said Aaron Gunn, largely credited with reviving the BC Conservatives into relevancy before Rustad took over as leader. 

“I would have never thought in a million years of [the party] being over 30 per cent.”

The BC NDP and BC Conservatives are now locked neck-and-neck in the polls.

“It has exceeded my wildest expectations. I don’t know if I’ve ever more truthfully used that expression.”

“John was the right guy, at the right time.”

Aaron Gunn

Many events aligned to arrive at this moment. Not least when BC Liberals in late 2021 denied Gunn –now the federal Conservative candidate for North Island-Powell River – the opportunity to run for leader for views “inconsistent” with the party. Gunn took his thwarted pre-campaign energy and policy platform and forged it into a rebirth of the BC Conservative party. 

A year or so later, rebranded with a new vision and executive team, the remodeled Conservative Party of BC was ready for liftoff. Eight months after his jettison from the BC Liberals, Rustad was the only sitting Conservative MLA and its newest leader. He started right away honing the party policies and vision.

Then last September, Bruce Banman, the former BC Liberal MLA for Abbotsford South, defected to the fledgling party, doubling Rustad’s caucus to two. Other MLA defections would follow, but Banman’s move catapulted the Conservatives into official Fourth Party of the Opposition status, which meant more resources, staff, a bigger office and a slot in every Question Period. 

John Rustad beside his favourite tree on the legislative grounds. [Photo Chad Hipolito]

‘How come we’re being shut out?’

The day after Rustad raised SOGI in the legislature, Banman asked his first question as a newly minted Conservative MLA, stunning legislators silent when he read graphic sexual dialogue from a book Abbotsford parents said was available in a middle school library. After a few short sentences, the speaker cut Banman off, saying the language was not appropriate for the legislative chamber.

On the pre-campaign trail in September, Rustad explained why his first question was on the politically explosive subject of SOGI: “Because parents across this province are not happy with where the education system is going. They’re not happy when there’s books in schools … that use language that can’t be written in the legislature.”

“The question that [parents] all have is, ‘How come we’re not being told what our kids are learning? How come we’re being shut out?’ And so, it’s built this huge fear up within the community, about the education of kids and what’s going on.

“SOGI’s become this lightning rod, which is why it needs to be replaced.”

As proof, addressing a 300-plus Punjab crowd at a Surrey rally last month, education took top billing in Rustad’s keynote address. 

About 300 people showed up to an outdoor rally in September to hear the man who might be premier. [Photo Chad Hipolito]

The system needs to teach kids how to think, not what to think, he told attendees gathered in a park under a warm afternoon sun. Conservatives will put parents at the centre of their kids’ education, so they know what’s happening, can be involved, and have a say, he said to a round of applause.

Mobbed like a celebrity after the speeches were done, Rustad moved through the throng in inches, stopped every few feet by people taking selfies, petitioning him on an issue or crowded around him for more group shots. 

John Rustad at a Surrey rally last month. [Photo Chad Hipolito]

Everyone wanted to be close to the man who might soon be Premier.

“They want to be part of the movement that’s happening,” he said in the car later. It’s inspiring, but can occasionally feel a bit overwhelming, “when you get people coming up in tears and saying, “You know, you’re giving us hope.’”

BC’s basket is overflowing

For Rustad’s detractors, his rise to prominence is abhorrent, his views unconscionable, and his party’s escalating popularity a frightening Trump-like aberration manifest from the fumes of American political discord.

But the comparison to Trump has so far fallen flat. 

Rustad is not a flamboyant, high-powered, wheeling-dealing New York billionaire real estate mogul with ostentatious taste and global golf course holdings. Neither brash nor rude nor extravagant, Rustad owned and operated a modestly successful forestry services business prior to entering politics. He and his wife have nephews and nieces but were unable to have children. They haven’t taken a vacation in two-and-a-half years, and the acreage they own on Cluculz Lake between Prince George and Vanderhoof is not notable for its gold-plated anything. 

Also, he has a pleasant resting face.

From the onset though, Eby and his ministers hammered the Conservatives for their alleged extreme views and far right schemes. They were engaging in U.S.-style politics and bringing the culture war to B.C., Eby said.

A government led by Rustad would restrict access to abortion and funding for contraception, according to Eby, no matter how unequivocal Rustad’s repudiation of the claim: “Access to abortion, contraception and other items will remain exactly as it is now. There will be no changes.” 

Rustad chats with BC Conservative MLA Teresa Wat at a Jewish function in Richmond. [Photo Chad Hipolito]

The prevailing NDP narrative is that Rustad and his team are wrong-minded kooks and members of Canada’s very own ‘basket of deplorables,’ namely Freedom Convoy supporters, conspiracy theorists, and anyone else who supports the Conservatives.

“[Some people] are falling into that trap of… supporting Freedom Convoy, thinking about conspiracies, all of a sudden becoming super anti-trans.”

Ravi Kahlon

When Rustad referenced former NDP MLA Gwen O’Mahony in the spring – she’s running as a Conservative candidate – Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon spoke of the unfortunate ones who were “falling into that trap of… supporting Freedom Convoy, thinking about conspiracies, all of a sudden becoming super anti-trans and anti-homophobic [sic].

“What’s clear is that she’s now found a home with people who believe the same thing. That’s what she sees in the leader of the Conservative Party — that same extreme view.” 

A treacherous assumption on which to stake a campaign strategy. Not only does it violate a cardinal rule of good governance – always respect the voter – but that basket of deplorables now encompasses nearly half of all decided voters in B.C.

The real-life troubles listening tour

In the past year, Rustad has visited communities across the province, meeting as many British Columbians as he could. And he listened, trying to understand what people needed, what was working, or not, in their communities and how the Conservative party could help if they were elected to government.

At first, his audiences were small, maybe a few people. Eventually they grew to dozens, then hundreds. From one-on-one meetings to community townhalls, he listened. 

Back in Question Period, he brought the issues to government’s attention. He and Banman shared the real-life troubles of people they’d met; they asked ministers for answers and demanded attention to issues. 

At every opportunity, they poked the hornet’s nest in Victoria, representing voices that hadn’t felt heard, prodding government to action on files. It didn’t always change anything, but sometimes it did. 

Rustad asked the Premier about supportive housing workers being forced to wear gas masks at work because of drug use; he and Banman called for an end to decriminalization and safer supply (as did BC United); they forced the BC NDP to drop the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, demanded an investigation into Clean BC, forced the NDP’s hand on mandatory care, and badgered the government into “axing the [carbon] tax.”

Economic reconciliation

Perhaps the most controversial topic they’ve taken on relates to land use and reconciliation. 

In the spring, Rustad said a Conservative government would repeal the Declaration of Rights for Indigenous Peoples (DRIPA) because it has not effectively advanced reconciliation and has created problems for society. Last week, he changed that position, saying Conservatives will honour the guiding principles OF DRIPA, but will develop new legislation to advance economic reconciliation and Indigenous autonomy. 

His idea of economic reconciliation is heavily influenced by his time as Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation from 2013 to 2017.  In that span, he signed 435 agreements with nations. 

“Everything from forest and range agreements, to sharing forest revenue, to clean energy revenue- sharing, to mining, to pipelines,” he said. 

“I even signed the agreement that created the First Nations Health authority.”

The NDP timelines for electrification are unrealistic, “we would need to build the equivalent of six or seven more Site C dams.,” John Rustad says, adding it’s time to talk about nuclear power. [Photo Chad Hipolito]

Speaking informally to a group of prominent businessmen in Victoria last month, he elaborated on the Conservative plan for economic reconciliation.

It’s all about working with each nation to understand what will bring prosperity to each community, he said. For some nations that may lie with natural resources, for others it could be residential development, industrial projects, or tourism opportunities. 

“But it can’t be about taking from one people to give to another. It has to be about adding to the economy and giving First Nations that opportunity to fully prosper from them.”

“But [reconciliation] can’t be about taking from one people to give to another.”

John Rustad

Because the current approach is not working, he said. It’s only working government-to-government, but it’s not working people-to-people. 

The benefits are not filtering down to jobs for First Nations, and it’s not working for non-First Nations, because there’s friction that is forming between the two people, he said. 

“And that is never a good thing. That never ends well.”

“We need to stop creating the division and start creating the unity,” said Sq’éwlets First Nation Chief Joey Chapman, joining Rustad on Sept. 30 at the BC Conservative launch of their economic reconciliation policy, which will include addictions treatment services on reserves.

“It’s going to take both parties, First Nations chiefs and the Conservative Party, to come together and work together. And that’s the only way we’re going to come through,” said Chapman.

Rustad raises questions about terms of agreement

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs lambasted Rustad for his “Trump-style US politics” as well as for a litany of commitments and comments he made in an interview with Canadian psychologist and media commentator, Dr. Jordan Peterson.

Eby also chimed in. “[Rustad] only talks about these things when he’s in a trusted environment with his pals like Jordan Peterson,” he said according to an Oct. 1 post by an NDP staffer.

Rustad has also come under fire for raising concerns about aspects of the Haida Gwaii “Rising Tide” Title Agreement, which was essentially presented to legislators as a done deal in the spring.

David Eby characterized Rustad’s criticisms as racist and divisive and accused him of being two-faced.

“[Rustad] looked in the eyes the Haida elder and said, ‘This is the right thing to do’ … and then he walked out of that legislature, and he got on social media and he said, ‘British Columbia, watch out. They’re coming for your backyards.’ 

“I fully support title. I think it’s the right thing to do.”

John Rustad

In an interview in September, Rustad clarified: “I fully support title. I think it’s the right thing to do. But title on Haida Gwaii will now exist underneath your private property, underneath your communities. 

“That also means Haida law will apply to those communities. Haida law will be able to make decisions about taxation – what you can and can’t do – which could override your right as a community to be able to make decisions.”

Private land should never be on the table for Indigenous title, he said, calling private land “a core foundation… of people’s rights in this country.”  

Rustad’s continuing concern, he said, is about the precedent the agreement sets. 

“It has a potential now to go anywhere in this province, and it’s something that needs to be thought about and talked about.”

‘Rustad risk’

Rustad has become the bogeyman of the left. 

Nearly every press release, announcement, social media post, and utterance by David Eby and the NDP is a Rustad takedown. Policy content sometimes presents like an afterthought wrapped around the core NDP message – attack Rustad. 

John Rustad is the BC NDP’s 2024 election campaign bogeyman. [Image BC NDP]

It’s hard to know what will stick with voters and how much they care about which issues. But Rustad has taken some heat for his own words, including conversations with an anti-vax public sector employees’ group about the “so-called vaccine” being used to control the B.C. population, and an interview in which he’s talking about nitrogen-based fertilizer.

Despite a barrage of questions from media, Rustad’s responses were limited, beyond that he’s been vaxxed three times and had a heart-related reaction after the third vaccine.

He has also come under particularly heavy fire from political opponents and environmentalists for media posts and comments he has made questioning aspects of climate change science and has been repeatedly accused of being a climate change denier. 

He’s refuted this multiple times, including on Sept. 20, when giving an address to several hundred mayors and councillors at the Union of BC Municipalities annual conference. 

“Climate change is real. Man has had an impact on climate,” Rustad said.

“Climate change is real. Man has had an impact on climate.”

John Rustad

Climate change scientist and former BC Green leader, Andrew Weaver, lent his support to Rustad. Weaver was also a lead author of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments.

“While the Conservative leader and I have policy differences on climate action public policy, there is one quality I see in Rustad that I value above all else in public office holders: authenticity,” wrote Weaver in a Sept. 25 Vancouver SunOpEd. 

“The NDP’s insistence on falsely labelling their opponents as climate deniers is not only done in bad faith, but also represents an approach to governance that demonstrates a devotion to playing politics rather than lowering carbon emissions.”

“The NDP’s insistence on falsely labelling their opponents as climate deniers … demonstrates a devotion to playing politics rather than lowering carbon emissions.”

Andrew Weaver

The NDP has been dogged about trying to tie ill-considered social media comments by Conservative candidates to Rustad’s competency as a leader and the overall fitness of the party should it be elected government. Each time he’s asked about candidate posts, Rustad has skirted the question or kept his answer to a minimum. During the live leaders debate on CKNW radio, he wouldn’t comment when Eby revealed another NDP-excavated social media post by a Conservative candidate. After the debate, Rustad referred reporters to speak to the candidate if they wanted a follow up. 

“We’re going to strengthen laws, if we need to, around hate… [and] work in our education system, so that people understand our full history and that racism, anti-Semitism, is completely unacceptable,” John Rustad tells attendees at a Jewish town hall in Richmond. [Photo Chad Hipolito]

Previously, he said people are entitled to their opinions, that his party doesn’t demand complete conformity of thinking, and he hasn’t seen anything that warranted firing a candidate. He has said caucus members will be free to vote for their constituents on legislation, rather than being whipped by the party to vote a specific way, which the NDP have presented as dangerous given the questionable beliefs voiced by some of the candidates.

For his part, Rustad said the NDP attacks on candidates are a deflection by Eby to avoid talking about his performance in government. 

“He’s going to do everything he possibly can to distract from that because he doesn’t want to talk about his record,” he told a reporter last week when asked about it. 

“I just look at that as weak leadership and as desperate leadership knowing he can’t defend what he’s doing.”

“I just look at that as weak leadership.”

John Rustad

His current remedy for fending off NDP attacks seems to be what he’s been doing since that first chaotic day in the legislature last October – head down, power forward and keep lobbing grenades. Only now, the ordinance takes the form of a steady stream of policy proposals.

“We’re going to be out continually talking positive about what we’re doing and what we want to do for the people in British Columbia, while pointing out these shortfalls and how we will fix these problems that David Eby has created for people in British Columbia,” he said. 

Despite the criticism he’s faced for poorly-considered posts by a handful of his candidates, Rustad has a strong front bench of competent former BC United MLAs who defected to the Conservatives or joined up following United’s collapse before the election began. These include Elenore Sturko, Lorne Doerkson, Trevor Halford, Peter Milobar, Ian Paton and Teresa Wat. As well, other Conservative candidates on the roster are strong or known political entities like Gwen O’Mahony, Yuri Fulmer, Chris Sankey, Á’a:líya Warbus and Gavin Dew, to name a few.

‘Hungry for change’

On the campaign trail, Rustad continues criss-crossing the province and he’s still listening. Although these days, he’s talking more, his appearances draw bigger crowds and there’s a lot more media scrutiny.

“So many people are hungry for change. They just want to feel like they’re part of it. 

“It’s very humbling, but it’s pretty amazing.”

John Rustad arrives at a Jewish townhall event in Richmond. [Photo Chad Hipolito]

In his downtime, when he gets some, Rustad likes to read economic news and data for fun. He thinks there’s going to be a recession in the next while. 

“There’s going to be all kinds of problems that come, associated with that,” he said at the end of another long day.

B.C. is currently sitting at a nearly $9 billion deficit, which David Eby estimated will rise to $26 billion in three years. Conservatives have promised to balance the budget by the end of the second term.

 “Hopefully, if we can get this foundational stuff done, then, coming out of [the recession], we’ll be very, very strong.”

Whether voters will trust him to lay that foundation remains to be seen.

Polling shows British Columbians are dissatisfied with government, but still favour Eby as premier. They’re almost evenly split in voter intention between the top two parties, with BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau personally popular, but her party, a distant third. 

What a difference a year makes and how the tables have turned. 

Rustad has vaulted from an unwelcome disrupter of the legislative order to a premier contender in 12 months. The journey has been surreal, but Rustad doesn’t have much time to reflect. He’s too busy thinking about all the work ahead if his party wins.

If Conservatives are elected, how will he measure success?

“One of two youth are thinking about leaving this province. If, after four years, that number is reduced, and people think they can build a future here in British Columbia, that is success.” 

“If we’re unable to achieve that, then we have not done the job.”