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“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

Wilbur Turner: Rustad’s Wobbly Grip and the Splintering of BC’s Conservatives

IMAGE CREDIT:  Abacus Data (May 2024) 


The 2024 election was supposed to be John Rustad’s crowning moment. The BC Conservatives came roaring back from the political graveyard, snagging 44 seats and nearly tying the NDP in the popular vote. For a hot minute, it looked like Rustad had turned a fringe party into the government-in-waiting. Fast forward less than a year, and the whole thing’s already circling the drain.

Rustad’s “big tent” experiment, which jammed together ex-BC United centrists with hard-right culture warriors, was always going to be a disaster ...

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