42nd & Grace

John Rustad is a nice man. In fact, he’s a good man, a decent man – even has a hint of John Major without all the pizzazz. But if he truly wants to ensure the longevity of the movement he’s helped revive, the best thing he can do now is call a leadership race.

As the fates have a sense of humour, I was in Victoria this week when the results of the Conservatives of British Columbia were announced and then the most high-profile MLA they have was ousted from caucus. It meant a lot of questions from everyone I ran into (it was also the annual Union of BC Municipalities meeting).

On leadership review, the 70 per cent figure is, on paper, a pass but in political terms it is a lukewarm endorsement. Consider that almost a year ago, Rustad led a moribund party to within a handful of votes of forming government. And the leadership review was more of an old-fashioned revival: the faithful gathering, the pastor showing up preaching a hopeful gospel, serving up a burger and a ballot. How did support not hit 90 as a minimum?

Then there’s the matter of caucus discipline. As someone who watched unrest unfold in the BC Liberal ranks under Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark, I can tell you if every MLA with leadership ambitions had been ejected, the caucus would have fit around a small table. Leadership is about managing dissent, not purging it.

Between the middling review and the caucus infighting, the message is clear: this party needs a leadership race. The scheming and sniping are not going to stop until there is a clearing of the air.

BC Conservatives need this. British Columbians need this if they want a viable governing alternative to the NDP.

John Rustad deserves tremendous respect for taking a party that barely registered and building it into the official opposition. Nothing can strip him of that.

But he had help. Kevin Falcon imploding the BC United/BC Liberals was unexpected. Pierre Poilievre supercharged the Conservative movement federally. Justin Trudeau’s prolonged time in office helped galvanize the anti-establishment vote. Even Premier David Eby co-opted parts of Poilievre’s populist messaging during the last provincial campaign. Remember, during the last provincial election, everyone thought Poilievre was going to be PM and everyone was jumping aboard the Conservative bandwagon.

All of those factors meant the BC Conservatives grew rapidly, becoming a place where some people parked votes or a vessel where others dared to dream of change they have been longing for. It was not just the small group of hard cores it once was.

It is now an unwieldly amalgamation.

It now needs a reckoning.

The party speaks a lot about democracy and freedom. Well, then have a leadership race where all the ideas currently doing battle in caucus can be endorsed, adapted or rejected by the members.

Let John Rustad run again (he was handed the job last time) on his strong libertarian principles. Let Dallas Brodie emerge from the wilderness with her brand of grassroots conservatism. Let Elenore Sturko or someone else carry the socially progressive, fiscally responsible banner. Let Brad West join the party and run if he wants. But debate the ideas. Make some decisions as a group. Then move on.

Yes, the BC Conservatives have scored some hits on the government. But what they have not shown is they are more than an opposition party. A leadership race would change that. It is a chance to unify the base, define the party’s future, and resolve the internal battles still being fought over its past.

Will it be messy? Probably. Will there be hurt feelings? Almost certainly. Which is exactly why it is better to do it now – on your own terms – than wait for strife, defections or defeat to force your hand. Will Rustad do it? Almost certainly not, as the toughest decision in politics – like sports – is knowing when to leave.

Still, call the race. The party and the province will be better for it.