For a brief moment, the BC Conservatives looked unstoppable. Polls showed a surge unseen since the days before the Social Credit collapse. Voters weary of endless NDP tax grabs and environmental vanity projects started to believe something different was possible. But ambition and ego have a way of turning promise into rubble — and after John Rustad’s ouster, the rubble is all too visible. Rustad did not bow out gracefully. He was pushed — then dragged — from the stage, railing against the very people that once introduced him as the saviour of a right‑of‑centre revival. It was slow-motion political theatre. For months, he seemed to deny what had already occurred. But in the end, he was ousted by the caucus, and the membership had already decided. It was time for the BC Conservatives to move on. .AUBUT: How Canada broke its own economy.A movement anchored in principle can rebuild stronger than before. The BC Conservatives were never meant to be a cult of one frustrated ex‑Liberal MLA. The party was meant to be a home for everyone weary of bureaucratic socialism, ESG fads, and a government that sees the taxpayer as an endless ATM. And that mission still stands — if Conservatives can find the will to come together..Division is the NDP’s best friend. While David Eby’s government spends its time taxing, regulating, and building bigger ministries, the so‑called free-enterprisers are fighting each other. The math is staggering: combine the vote that split between the BC Conservatives and independents this year, and the NDP’s dominance in key ridings shrinks to margins of under five percent. But as long as conservatives insist on competing against themselves, Eby can sleep peacefully. The exodus of independent MLAs only compounds the mess. They ought to return and help rebuild the team — and the team must put pas disputes aside and welcome them with open arms. In BC's political system, a conservative without a party is just a protest voter with office space. .CARPAY: Criminalizing belief? Liberal-Bloc deal turns holy scriptures into criminal hate speech.The same goes for the handful of OneBC MLAs who were either pushed out or bolted earlier in the year. If Dallas Brodie truly believes she has the strength and vision to lead, she should have the courage to say so — and launch a leadership campaign for the BC Conservatives. Leadership contests, done properly, renew parties. They sharpen ideas and legitimize the winner. They don’t happen by backroom grumbling and press‑release uprisings. Some conservatives in BC seem allergic to unity, mistaking it for surrender. Yet a house divided does not just fall — it hands the keys to the NDP. The socialists in BC have remained remarkably disciplined. Even when the Greens grumble or Eby’s own caucus mutters, they close ranks when power is at stake. Conservatives ought to learn from that. .Under Rustad, discipline evaporated. Infighting spilled onto social media. Donations dipped. Voters who wanted stability turned away. It is no small miracle the party still holds public goodwill. If it shows maturity now — through a transparent leadership process and a clear message on affordability — it can recover. The Conservatives in Alberta faced a similar crisis two decades ago, yet they emerged united under a renewed banner. The same can happen in BC, though not through nostalgia for a fallen leader. The future belongs to a movement that can talk about inflation, taxation, housing, and the erosion of rural opportunity in one voice. .WIECHNIK: Steel worries and carbon taxes could sink Alberta's pipeline dream.John Rustad’s departure is the end of a chapter, not the book. The next few months will test the BC Conservatives’ character more than any election could. Will the independents and OneBC defections remain holdouts in the wilderness, or will they return to the fold? Will a new leader emerge who can speak to both the working‑class tradesman in Prince George and the small‑business owner in Surrey? The answer will decide whether the NDP continues to run British Columbia unchecked or whether conservatives can once again occupy the political ground of common sense. Every movement that matters goes through a purge before a renewal. The BC Conservatives have had theirs. Now comes the hard part — unity.
