John Rustad resigns as leader of B.C. Conservative Party, Trevor Halford takes on interim role

follow in replete(p): king john Rustad's surrender as B.C. Conservative Party Leader

Rustad officially out as B.C. Conservative Party leader

Halford is the MLA for Surrey-White Rock. He was elected in 2020 as part of the B.C. Liberals and then switched to the B.C. Conservatives in 2024 after the rebranded Liberal Party — B.C. United — was effectively shut down by leader Kevin Falcon.

Before that, Halford was heavily involved with the B.C. Liberals as both a chief of staff for cabinet members and as part of premier Christy Clark's communications team.

Because of that, people have considered Halford part of the Conservative Party's more moderate wing — but that shouldn't be necessarily taken as an indication that one "wing" of the party has become more dominant, as disillusionment with Rustad was driven less by ideology and more by his overall political management of a diverse caucus.

Reasons that caucus would have supported Halford as interim leader likely include his understanding of the legislature as both a politician and a staffer, his media experience, his genial nature and his lack of interest in running for the permanent leadership.

Halford ended his news conference with praise for Rustad.

“I think John’s a man that’s true to his word.… John is an important part of not just this party, he’s an important part of this province.”

Halford said Rustad’s accomplishments deserve respect.

The news conference then ended to applause from the Conservative MLAs gathered behind Halford.

'No perfect caucus': Halford on division within the B.C. Conservative Party

Trevor Halford, interim leader of the B.C. Conservative Party, says "there's no such thing as a perfect caucus," when he was asked about divisions within the caucus. He says that the B.C. Conservatives are now solely focused on what they want to accomplish.

Halford says he feels the party will be united moving forward and is confident the caucus is focused on the path and leadership race ahead.

"Yesterday and today has been an emotional day for everybody," he said.

"The biggest thing that unites us as a caucus is that we believe that British Columbians deserve way more than they're getting right now."

He noted that in his riding of Surrey-White Rock, people face 14-hour waits at the hospital and long lines at food pantries, while British Columbians in other parts of the province are impacted by mill closures.

Halford says he and other other MLAs don't intend to hold back in continuing to hold the NDP accountable.

'I'm excited I can get a front row seat for it': Halford on the upcoming leadership race

Halford said the Conservative Party has a duty to ensure that it is “election-ready” at all times.

He wouldn’t comment on if that means there’s a narrow window for a leadership race.

“That’s not for me to answer, that’s something that the party is going to have to put forward,” he said.

He said the party is “dealing with this in real time right now” and has no timeline for when the leadership race will take place.

'We have a duty to John, British Columbians, to get us to the next chapter': Trevor Halford

Trevor Halford, MLA for Surrey-White Rock and interim leader of the B.C. Conservative Party, says he has a duty to John Rustad and to British Columbians to move to the next chapter. He started his news conference by thanking the former leader of the B.C. Conservatives for the "historic way that he has gotten us here."

Halford says the party is grateful to Rustad for the work he has done to lead the party.

"John has been a friend, he's been a mentor, and he's got us to this place…. John has taken an incredibly gracious step," he said.

"John is an important part of not just this party, but of this province."

As interim leader, Halford says he doesn’t intend to make big decisions, such as whether to welcome MLAs who left or were ejected from the party back.

Instead, he says he'll focus on holding the NDP to account and preparing for the leadership race.

About 24 Conservative MLAs gathered to hear Halford speak. Notably absent were Jody Toor, Reann Gasper and Kristen Loewen who expressed support yesterday for Rustad.

Some were teary eyed, while others appeared giddy.

Many broke out in spontaneous holiday caroling, singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas.

B.C. Conservative Interim Leader Trevor Halford speaks following John Rustad's resignation

John Rustad has resigned as the leader of the B.C. Conservatives, and Trevor Halford will be taking over leadership responsibilities.

Halford said he wouldn’t characterise Rustad’s determination as a “festive, well-chosen second.”

“ thither’s some people that this has been very emotionally difficult for,” he said.

He said the “gulf of ideology” in the Conservative Party isn’t “really there,” and that he looks forward to fundraising for the party and holding the NDP government to account.

“My biggest focus is to be behind these guys [Conservative MLAs] … and making sure that they know I’m there to do that work.

Halford thanked Rustad for his sacrifices for the party and British Columbians.

He said he respects that he is only the interim leader of the party and that he will support whoever steps up to fill the role permanently.

“I am not running to be the next premier of this province,” he said.

Trevor Halford, MLA for Surrey-White Rock, is beginning his remarks. He has been named interim leader by the caucus.

Some Conservative MLAs sang ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas,’ before the news conference started.

Rustad told reporters here this morning that he decided to resign after speaking with his wife and others close to him last night, despite them urging him to stay on.

His decision comes after months of turmoil within his party, and a day after 20 members of his 39-member caucus signed a letter calling for his removal. Initially, Rustad refused to step down, saying the party’s constitution did not allow for the caucus to eject him as leader.

But on Thursday he said he wanted to avoid a “civil war” in the party.

“Right from the beginning, this could never be about me. If it becomes about me, then I’m here for the wrong reasons,” he said.

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