John Rustad

He led the BC Conservatives from 2023 until resigning in December 2025 and was Leader of the Opposition. He is named in the 2026 British Columbia general election as a possible Premier of British Columbia.

Career

Raised in Prince George, Rustad worked about twenty years in forestry and founded the consulting firm Western Geographic Information Systems in 1995. He was a school trustee from 2002 to 2005, then a BC Liberal MLA from 2005, for Prince George-Omineca and from 2009 Nechako Lakes. He was Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation from 2013 and briefly Minister of Forests in 2017. Removed from the Liberal caucus in 2022, he joined the Conservatives in February 2023 and became leader in March. The party won 44 seats in 2024. He resigned as leader on 4 December 2025 and said he would not seek re-election. On 18 September 2026 Kerry-Lynne Findlay removed him from caucus; three days later, after her resignation, he was invited back.

Positions

Wikipedia describes his stance on climate change as unclear, citing contradictory statements in 2024. He opposed the NDP's 2023 housing reforms, proposed removing SOGI 123 teaching resources from schools, and introduced a 2024 private member's bill on women's sports that was defeated at first reading. He framed the Conservatives as a centre-right alternative.

Summarised automatically from the linked sources. Wikipedia · Wikipedia

Photo: Province of British Columbia, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons (cropped)