VICTORIA — The B.C. Conservative Party announced that John Rustad was “removed” as leader of the Opposition on Wednesday and a caucus vote had installed Trevor Halford as interim leader after 20 MLAs representing a caucus majority said they had lost confidence in Rustad and wanted him out.
But if Rustad’s opponents thought that was the end of the matter they were mistaken, as his supporters roamed the legislature insisting he remained Opposition leader, despite a news release on party letterhead saying he was removed because he was “professionally incapacitated.”
Rustad was scathing, saying on social media that he was “not going anywhere.”
“A political party’s board can throw around whatever creative terminology they like, ‘professional incapacitation?’ Give me a break,” he said.
Rustad has for months refused to quit, despite a caucus rebellion that has seen the departure of five MLAs in the last year, and the party’s president call on him to go. On Wednesday, Rustad cited the party’s constitution, which says the only ways to remove a leader are death, incapacitation, resignation or a leadership review.
But the party’s board of directors seemed to find a way around that, according to a news release just before 1 p.m. announcing Rustad was out.
It said the board had decided Rustad was “professionally incapacitated” and therefore unable to continue as leader of the party.
“Furthermore, the board passed a motion appointing Trevor Halford as interim leader. The Conservative Party of British Columbia respects the democratic will of the majority of caucus,” the news release said.
It also said there had been a caucus vote to select Halford.
Halford, the Conservative MLA for Surrey-White Rock, said he had accepted the job as interim leader.
He said he had not had a conversation with the Speaker or the clerk of the house, so it was difficult to say who the leader of the official Opposition is right now.
“We’re in some pretty incredible unprecedented times and what I’ve been calling for is stability, and I think it’s paramount that we get stability inside of our caucus, I think it’s paramount that we get stability with our party, I think it’s paramount that British Columbians get stability.”
Confusion reigned in the hallways of the legislature, as some Conservative MLAs continued to call Rustad their leader, despite the news release.
Abbotsford West MLA Korky Neufeld turned the question of the leadership on reporters, asking them, “What did you hear?”
“We’ll have to find out,” he said, adding that he “always stood with John, from beginning to the end.”
And the party’s leader?
“Right now, it’s John Rustad,” Neufeld said.
Reann Gasper of Abbotsford-Mission said there had to be “order in the process, and this is out of order.”
“I am disappointed in my colleagues. I am disappointed in the way that this has taken shape,” she said.
Gasper, too, insisted that Rustad remained the Opposition leader, while the Conservatives’ house leader, A’aliya Warbus, said another press release would clarify exactly who was leading the Opposition.
The chaos was triggered on Wednesday morning by a letter from lawyer Bruce Hallsor to party president Aisha Estey saying he was in possession of statements from 20 MLAs calling for Rustad’s removal.
The letter says the statements are “individually executed, which all advise that the member has lost confidence in the leadership of John Rustad.”
The letter was authenticated on Wednesday by Estey.
Hallsor — a King’s counsel and managing partner at Victoria law firm Crease Harman LLP — says in the letter that he has been asked for the moment to keep the identity of the 20 members confidential.
But Rustad said before the press release announcing his removal that he was not planning to step aside “at this point” and the constitution of the party does not allow MLAs to vote him out. No number of legislators could force him to quit, he said in response to a question.
“There’s obviously some loud voices that have been part of that group, that have been for some time,” he said, adding that he was “listening to their voices” but the party was going to focus on issues facing British Columbians.
He said it was “going to be their choice” if the 20 MLAs chose to quit the party caucus.
Estey along with six other members of the party’s management committee had called for Rustad to resign in September, saying turmoil under his leadership has undermined the party’s credibility.
The executives said in a letter it was Rustad’s responsibility to unite the party behind a common vision.
The party has been hit by a series of defections since coming within three seats of a majority in last year’s provincial election, with Dallas Brodie and Tara Armstrong forming the OneBC party and three others sitting as Independents.
Rustad has repeatedly said he won’t quit, citing the results of a leadership review in September where he earned 70.6 per cent support among members who voted.
When he was asked on Wednesday what he meant by saying he wouldn’t step aside “at this point,” Rustad said, “I’m not going to live forever.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2025.
Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
