Last week Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad was acclaimed as the new Leader of the BC Conservative Party.
While this may not seem like a major change in the BC political landscape, it has the potential to have a significant impact in the next provincial election.
Rustad, who was kicked out of the BC Liberal Party caucus last year by Leader Kevin Falcon over his views on climate change, is a former Indigenous Affairs and Forestry Minister and has served his riding since 2005.
While not guaranteed a victory, Rustad has a decent shot at getting reelected in Nechako Lakes in the next provincial election while at the same time enjoying a newfound ideological freedom he seems to have always coveted.
But even if the BC Conservatives don’t win any seats, by offering right wing voters another alternative, they could potentially get enough support to split the right-of-centre vote in enough rural and conservative ridings to block the BC Liberals’ next victory, and thereby deliver the BC NDP another majority government.
So, while Rustad is serving up the BC Liberals the nightmare they’ve been dreading since it last occurred in the 1990s with the BC Reform Party, this is the early Christmas present that Premier David Eby could only dream about.
But presumably John Rustad’s chief concerns are not necessarily who forms the next provincial government, but rather growing support for his new party and his own brand as leader as quickly as possible.
With cost of living and especially crime and safety issues top of mind for a lot of voters, Rustad’s BC Conservatives could indeed make it interesting with the ability to offer more tailor-made regional policies in the North and Interior.
If the BC Conservatives do manage to win a seat or two, say Rustad’s own Nechako Lakes and one or two more where they’ve had substantial vote counts in recent elections, they could even be the king-makers in a minority or coalition government situation like the Green Party was for the NDP in 2017.
So, it might actually be politicians and voters from the North that dictate the outcome of the next BC election, forcing the Premier and BC Liberal leader to venture beyond Hope for a change when the writ finally drops.
Editors note: The views expressed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of Pattison Media.
