The BC Conservative Party’s leadership review is taking place under a cloud as party insiders allege thousands of fake memberships have been used to try to influence the outcome of the vote.
Leader John Rustad is facing a leadership review, as is routine after an election. But his leadership has faced questions and dissent from inside the party, which saw an unprecedented rise in support in the last year.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!More than 2,000 votes are alleged to have appeared in the final days of voting in Kelowna. A source, not authorized to speak publicly, tells us the area previously had about 600 active members in the party.
Materials supplied to 1130 NewsRadio reveal that new members were signed up over the course of a few days at the end of August, when voting in the riding was set to wrap up.
The members were signed up with identical email address formats and bogus phone numbers. Our source tells us the membership dues were paid with a total of three credit cards for the new hundreds of members.
The reviewed material also shows similar issues in Richmond and Delta.
The source told 1130NewsRadio that they believe the names were forged from an old BC United membership list.
In one case, the party allegedly signed up a former BC United member who died well before the leadership review got underway.
BC United is the successor of the BC Liberals, which essentially collapsed before the British Columbia general election in October 2024; with party leader Kevin Falcon conceding in late summer and endorsing the Conservatives instead.
Rustad was ousted by BC Liberals in 2022
John Rustad was a member of the BC Liberals until Falcon ejected him from the caucus due to climate change denialism in 2022. He joined the BC Conservatives in February 2023 before becoming party leader the following month.
The party has come under considerable controversy since the election.
In June, Rustad ejected Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dallas Brodie from the party over comments she made on a podcast about residential schools. MLAs Tara Armstrong and Jordan Kealy quit the party in protest, and Brodie and Armstrong later joined to create a new party.
OneBC purports to “combat the globalist assault on our history, culture and families” and promises a 10-year vision for a “prosperous tax-free B.C.” The party’s MLAs were among the first to raise questions about the process of the leadership review.
Days later, Rustad publicly accused former caucus and staff members of the party — although he did not name any individuals — of threatening to release “blackmail materials,” including secret phone recordings and text messages.
While the BC NDP seized on the political opportunity and asked the RCMP to investigate the claims, Rustad later expressed regret for using the term ‘blackmail’.
Sources tell us a BC Conservatives caucus meeting initially set for Thursday has now been pushed to Monday.