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VICTORIA — A political expert said the expulsion from the B.C. Conservative caucus of Elenore Sturko by Leader John Rustad will limit the appeal of the party and place more pressure on him.
University of B.C. political science lecturer Stewart Prest said Tuesday that the initial decision of Sturko — a former RCMP officer and member of the LGBTQ2+ community — to join the Conservatives last year showed it could be a “big tent party” where people from diverse backgrounds were welcome.
But Prest said that perception might be changing.
“The dismissal of someone like Sturko suggests that perhaps that is not the case, that it is really just a party by and for right-of-centre populists of a certain type,” he said.
Conservative member Brennan Day questioned Sturko’s dismissal before going into the meeting, saying that if the party wanted to broaden its base, then Sturko’s firing was “definitely a short-sighted-move.”
Day declined to speak to media after the meeting, and Rustad said Sturko’s dismissal “had nothing to do” with a letter that 13 Conservative MLAs had signed last December 2024, in which they asked Sturko to apologize for criticizing a former Vancouver Police Board member, who had complained of “woke culture” as well as gender transitions.
Prest said Sturko’s dismissal also reveals a party leadership that is less interested in expanding the party and more inclined to shrink it, “so that those who remain can still be led.”
Prest said leaders claiming a successful leadership review like Rustad have typically used the moment to turn the page.
But in this case, he said, they’re seeing what amounts to a “bloodletting.”
“So, that just inevitably will open up a new round of recrimination, and it certainly will lead to more of what Mr. Rustad claims he is trying to prevent, which is people asking questions about his leadership of the party.”
Rustad said Monday that the results of the leadership review with 70.6 support gave him a “strong mandate” to lead the party, but Prest said the result may have created a “worst-case scenario” for the Conservatives.
“It’s not a clear repudiation of Mr. Rustad, but it is not a full-throated form of support,” Prest said.
Rustad said he and his caucus are united in their common goal to defeat the NDP and he disagreed, when asked about Day’s argument that dismissing Sturko could limit the party’s potential growth.
“As a matter of fact, our party is growing,” Rustad said. “I was out touring the province for the last four months. In every place I went, we signed up new members. We had more people coming out.”
He also pushed back against the idea that the party is losing momentum after having lost another MLA with the caucus now down to 40 members, after 44 were elected about a year ago.
“They (New Democrats) are in free fall with the disaster that is around them and you are asking about momentum?” Rustad said. “If (Premier) David Eby thinks he has got momentum, drop the writ, and we will prove it.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2025.
Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
