Some B.C. Conservatives say ‘incapacitated’ Rustad out as leader. But others disagree

VICTORIA — An attempted coup against John Rustad’s leadership of the Conservative Party of B.C. descended into chaos on Wednesday, with the party’s legislators unable to agree who was in charge.

The party announced just before 1 p.m. that Rustad had been “removed” as leader of the Opposition 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.

A news release on party letterhead said Rustad was removed because he was “professionally incapacitated.”

But if Rustad’s opponents thought that was the end of the matter they were mistaken, as his supporters roamed the legislature’s corridors insisting he remained Opposition leader, and Rustad took his usual seat in the chamber.

He was scathing on social media, saying 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.

Halford and Rustad separately visited the office of Speaker Raj Chouhan, amid expectations he would make an announcement to help clear up the confusion by the end of the day.

But late Wednesday Chouhan said only that a written statement would be issued “in due course,” while the Conservative caucus held discussions into the night.

Just over a year ago, Rustad stood on the cusp of becoming premier, with the Conservatives eventually falling three seats short of a majority.

Since then, a caucus rebellion has seen the departure of five MLAs, while the party’s president and most of its board executives have called on him to go.

For months, he has refused to quit. 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 the news release announcing Rustad was out.

It said the board had decided Rustad was “professionally incapacitated and unable to continue as party leader.”

“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 Wednesday afternoon that he had accepted the job as interim leader.

At that time, 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 actually was.

“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 said the statements were “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 — said in the letter that he has been asked for the moment to keep the identity of the 20 members confidential.

But Rustad said the constitution of the party did not allow MLAs to vote him out, and no number of legislators could force him to quit.

“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.

Since last year’s election, the party’s 44 seats have been whittled down to 39, with Dallas Brodie and Tara Armstrong forming the OneBC party and three others exiting the caucus to sit as Independents.

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.”

Premier David Eby was asked about the Conservatives leadership troubles during a news conference he held on the end of the fall legislative session on Wednesday.

He said he wasn’t surprised at the fracturing, given some Conservative members anti-vax conspiracy theories and their pro-Trump tweets.

“They’re fighting among themselves. I don’t know how you could hold a group together with that kind of hodgepodge of craziness.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2025.