John Rustad has slammed the BC NDP over its claim that he is a "career politician."The BC Conservative Party leader pointed out that despite holding public office since 2005, he has spent the majority of his life working blue collar jobs and operating a small business..The NDP made their claim in an attack ad that, while unlisted, was shared by CHEK News' Rob Shaw on X and obtained by the Western Standard. In the ad, the party labeled Rustad a "career politician," suggesting he had a record of "costing [British Columbians] more."It argued that he was responsible for doubling MSP bills and housing costs, and hiking car insurance rates, before claiming that he would, if elected, implement $4.1 billion in healthcare cuts and give tax breaks to the top 2%."The reality is I've spent majority of my working life as a blue collar worker & as a small business guy," Rustad wrote in response. "I've fought fires, worked labour & forestry jobs, and worked with heavy machinery — and I have the chainsaw scars to prove it."Prior to being elected, Rustad spent 20 years in the forestry industry, serving in the aforementioned positions and launching Western Geographic Information Systems Inc., a consulting service for the industry.Shaw called the ad "laughable," pointing out that Port Coquitlam MLA and Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth has served longer than Rustad and the NDP "wouldn't call him that." He added that the Conservative leader was elected a the same time as a slew of others who are still in office, including Rob Fleming, Nick Simons, Jagrup Brar, Bruce Ralston, and Raj Chouhan. .A number of other users on X questioned the NDP's tactics, with one pointing out that because the majority of the Conservatives' candidates are first-time politicians, the ad appeared to have backfired. "If being a career politician" is a negative then the BC Cons are still the best option," he wrote.
