“Team Rustad” has prevailed at the B.C. Conservatives’ first annual general meeting since storming into the province’s mainstream political scene in last year’s election and becoming the official Opposition.
Saturday’s meeting came amid divisions within the party that Leader John Rustad depicted as a strength not a weakness, in his speech to about 800 delegates.
“So I have our MLAs being able to stand up and speak, you know, even if it may be something that I disagree with, because freedom of speech has to be at the core of what we are as democracy,” Rustad told delegates in Nanaimo, B.C.
He later told reporters that if everybody was “singing Kumbaya and all the same, then you’re not a true party” and that you need to be able to look at differences “as a strength of who we are as a party.”
The leader firmly put his stamp on the party by running a slate of candidates for executive positions under the name “Team Rustad.”
Every one of his candidates prevailed.
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Among them was party president Aisha Estey, who held off challenges by four rivals, including a group of unsuccessful candidates in the fall provincial election.
Rustad’s preferred candidates also prevailed as vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and the five director-at-large positions.
Rustad told delegates it’s because of his strong belief in democracy that his party has free votes in the legislature.
It was a full house in the conference room, where some delegates had to stand at the back. Just over two years ago, when Rustad joined the Conservatives there were only 800 members in the entire party, he said.
In addition to backing Rustad’s executive slate, members also voted in favour Rustad’s move to amend the party’s constitution.
“This is a grassroots party. It has always been a grassroots party and I want it to always remain a grassroots party,” Rustad told reporters.
“So it’s key that we’ve got a constitution that reflects that and make sure that people are engaged at all levels in our party.”
The amended constitution included a measure that would likely stabilize the party leadership by reducing compulsory reviews. Under the old constitution, leadership reviews took place every two years, but under the new rules, a review will only be held after each provincial election.
Rustad will face his first leadership review this fall.
