A coalition of BC Conservative leaders from Metro Vancouver have called on caucus to oust John Rustad.In an open letter to MLAs and constituency offices, over a dozen riding association presidents, board members, and candidates of record from the Tri-Cities, Burnaby, and New Westminster declared that "only new leadership can put our party back on a winning path."."If an election was held today, we would almost certainly lose by an embarrassing and unacceptable margin to David Eby's NDP despite their track record as the most destructive government this province has ever seen," the coalition wrote.The cited the party's declining membership, "public infighting," and "plunging morale of our grassroots supporters" as reasons why change was needed, but argued Rustad's leadership was the main motivator."Under current leadership, our party has abandoned the successful approach of unapologetically speaking-up for the interests of British Columbians," they wrote. "Nowhere is this more evident than the Leader's delayed, confused, and weak messaging regarding DRIPA and the Cowichan Tribes decision which together pose a clear and immediate threat to property rights for all British Columbians."The group predicted that donations would "remain at depressed levels" until Rustad resigns, and an interim leader is chosen to take his place..UPDATED: BC Conservative execs call on Rustad to 'immediately step down' — he refuses.Over the past few weeks, Rustad had faced increasing calls to step down. On October 21, for example, members of the BC Conservatives' Management Committee, including Aisha Estey, Wesley Graham, Ndellie Massey, Troy Lanigan, Sacha Peter, Mauro Francis, and Andre Roberge signed a letter demanding he let the party find a new leader."While leadership inevitably involves navigating challenging circumstances, the constant and prolonged discord shows no sign of abating," they wrote. "The resulting state of chaos — driven by a series of decisions and actions taken under your leadership — has destabilized the party's internal cohesion and diminished its public credibility."Rustad refused to heed their calls.
