John Rustad
Member of the Legislative Assembly of British ColumbiaWikipedia
267
MENTIONS
125
EPISODES
41
PODCASTS
Search complete. 267 mentions across 125 episodes found for "John Rustad".
Oct 6, 2026
Stewart PrestGUEST
Essentially, there's, again, less runway to make the case that this is what the province needs at this moment, given all the time that has passed with the NDP.
Rob FaiHOST
You know, Stuart, I remember the emergence of John Rustad and how they nearly formed government.
Rob FaiHOST
I mean, the Conservatives came within a sliver of doing so.
Rob FaiHOST
And now all of a sudden you fast forward a couple of years and Lauren Dirksen kind of has certain earmarks that are similar to John Rustad, just different enough to be different, but similar enough to remind people that there's an option.
Rob FaiHOST
What do you make of the Conservatives pivot in this manner? And what do you make of Lauren Dirksen as a candidate?
Stewart PrestGUEST
Yeah, it's interesting to compare him back to John Rostad.
Geoff MeggsHOST
But she was, of course, elected as a conservative.
Geoff MeggsHOST
She had a falling out with John Rustad.
Geoff MeggsHOST
She became an independent.
Geoff MeggsHOST
And then more recently, like very recently, just earlier in the summer, crossed the floor and joined the NDP, which was unexpected, I think, by most people.
Jody VanceHOST
Hey, can we go back to when...
Jody VanceHOST
when Kevin Falcon was removed from what was BC United before the BC conservatives, wasn't it? Or was it when it was the conservatives before John Rustad? When was Trevor Halford sort of interim? And the whole thing was that the interim leader can't, become leader because you have to go through the whole process.
Jody VanceHOST
And now we have a situation where somebody is the leader that didn't go through the process.
Jody VanceHOST
And the general consensus is trying to keep calm waters in this moment, win an election, and then what? Are there guarantees that Lauren Dirksen will continue to be the leader of the B.C.
Jody VanceHOST
conservatives and everybody's just supposed to trust that?
George AffleckHOST
Right.
George AffleckHOST
And Trevor was between John Rustad and then Carrie Lynn Finlay.
George AffleckHOST
So he filled that spot in that period.
Gavin DewGUEST
Leadership transitions in a political party are never easy.
Gavin DewGUEST
Uh, John Rustad, when he stepped down as leader, uh, also did so with incredible dignity, and he made it clear that he was stepping down because he did not want to see a civil war in the party.
Gavin DewGUEST
He did not want to see people divided, and he wanted to make sure that we could move forward toward the ultimate goal, which is defeating the NDP and forming a government that can get the province back on track.
Gavin DewGUEST
So to anyone, uh, who feels alienated, I think it's very important that we as a party, we as an MLAs, are reaching out.
Andrew CoyneGUEST
And I think there's a pretty broad feeling that this was pretty shameless.
Aaron PeteHOST
What do you react to David Eby's argument that the Conservatives have been struggling to find their footing since the 2024 election with having an interim leader, removing John Rustad, having an interim leader, Trevor Halford, then going through an election, having Carrie Lynn Findlay, then having Carrie Lynn Findlay lose many of her MLAs and then entering this election that they have just not been able to find stable footing throughout this process?
Andrew CoyneGUEST
That's a perfectly valid point.
Andrew CoyneGUEST
That is a point that you would, you know, if you were their opponents, that you would make.
Carole TaylorHOST
It's called BC Politics.
Carole TaylorHOST
Now, first of all, we had two dominant political parties, the NDP under David Eby and the other party, the Conservatives, were under John Rustad's leadership.
Carole TaylorHOST
until they weren't.
Carole TaylorHOST
Thinking he wasn't right-wing enough, Rustad was forced out, resulting in a leadership race which Carrie Lynn Findlay barely won last spring.
Geoff MeggsHOST
We've been through this.
Mike McDonaldHOST
Rustad was against it.
Geoff MeggsHOST
But tell me again.
Mike McDonaldHOST
Rustad was against it in the platform in 2024.
Geoff MeggsHOST
Right.
Mike McDonaldHOST
'Cause he said, "It's a waste of money.
24 MINS LATER
Mike McDonaldHOST
Uh, Amelia from Penticton, elected as a Conservative.
Mike McDonaldHOST
Uh, she announced she wasn't gonna run this week.
Keith BaldreyGUEST
He keeps calling Trump a bully.
Keith BaldreyGUEST
He's not talking like Carolyn Finlay or John Rustad.
Keith BaldreyGUEST
He's not sugarcoating this.
Keith BaldreyGUEST
He's not dancing around the edges.
Adam StirlingHOST
They hold one of the seven ridings here on South Vancouver Island, Saanich North and the Islands.
Adam StirlingHOST
It's where their leader, Emily Lowen, is running.
Adam StirlingHOST
And they're also, I suspect, hoping to pick up more if they can, as are all parties.
Adam StirlingHOST
They had a press conference yesterday talking about early childhood education.
Adam StirlingHOST
as early childhood educators becoming more of a priority than what we've seen under this provincial government.
Emily LowenSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Early childhood education is the foundation of a healthy society yet it has been consistently deprioritized by every successive government That's
Adam StirlingHOST
Green candidate and party leader Emily Lowen running in the riding of Saanich North and the Islands.
Adam StirlingHOST
Also on tap, or I should say also on hand, potential ways forward that the Greens can distinguish themselves away from just the environmental portfolio, more so toward an expanded social service mindset when it comes to things like more childhood educator spaces or early childhood educator spaces, excuse me, in the education system.
speaker_1NARRATOR
My Cowichan Valley Now's Emily Javeski reports Amelia Boltby will not seek re-election in Penticton Summerland, less than three months after crossing the floor to the New Democrats.
speaker_1NARRATOR
Boltby was elected as a B.C. conservative in 2024. left that caucus in October of last year to sit as an independent amid criticism of then-leader John Rustad and join the New Democrats in July.
speaker_1NARRATOR
She says that because she crossed so recently, she cannot mount the kind of campaign that would give the party a fair chance in a snap election and is stepping aside to make way for a more winnable candidate.
speaker_1NARRATOR
She also described what the move cost her personally, saying she has been threatened, spat at, disowned, and abused both publicly and privately, but that she remains confident she did the right thing for the right reasons.
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