B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad speaks to members of the media during a year-end availability at legislature in Victoria, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
As British Columbians prepare for the Oct. 19 provincial election, a party that's been relegated to the political outskirts for almost half a century is experiencing a dramatic resurgence. The Conservative Party of B.C. is climbing high in the polls, raking in donations and aiming to field candidates in ridings throughout the province.B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad speaks at the B.C. legislature in Victoria in December 2023. As British Columbians prepare for the Oct.
Canseco suggests the rebrand was at least partly why four incumbent B.C. United MLAs have since chosen to defect to the B.C. Conservatives: Teresa Wat , Lorne Doerkson , Elenore Sturko and Bruce Banman .Richmond North Centre MLA Teresa Wat, pictured at the podium with John Rustad to the left, is one of four MLAs to have left B.C. United for the B.C. Conservatives.
"The B.C. Liberals had changed their name to B.C. United, just thinking they could carry on with a new name, not recognizing that the circumstances had changed. And those new circumstances were this Conservative wave sweeping across the country."record-breaking donations "I think if you stop people on the street today, most people wouldn't know who the leader of the B.C. Conservatives is. They would probably say Pierre Poilievre. John Rustad is still not particularly well known. He has not engineered this wave; he has just been the beneficiary."
"I think the biggest issue is since 1991, it's been 16 years of B.C. Liberals and 17 years of NDP," said Rustad. Both Rustad and Poilievre, though leading separate parties, have employed similar policy language, including phrases like "common sense," "axe the tax," "drug dens," and "catch and release."
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