John Rustad will remain leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia after receiving a 70.66% vote of confidence in a party-wide leadership review, the party announced Monday.

The vote, conducted across all 93 provincial ridings, saw 1,268 members in good standing cast their ballots. Rustad secured majority support in 78 ridings, lost in 10, tied in three, and saw no votes cast in two. “I would like to thank our members for coming out to use their democratic right and voicing their opinion on the direction of our party and movement,” said Rustad in a statement. “I believe the members have given me a mandate to lead, and I believe British Columbians are hungry for an unapologetic common sense Conservative government. We will make it happen.”

Rustad, who has led the provincial Conservatives since March 2023, described the vote as a validation of the party’s grassroots and a mandate for his leadership vision, which includes a firm stance on crime, drug policy, education, and provincial autonomy.

The party also voted on Rustad’s 11-point Leadership Pledge, a key policy framework that received 80.05% approval from participating members. The pledge outlines aggressive policy positions on issues ranging from banning open drug use near schools and repealing SOGI123 in schools, to restoring property rights and eliminating what Rustad calls “failed mass immigration.”

Other notable promises include:

• Firing Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry
• Restoring the Sir John A. Macdonald statue in Victoria
• Ending deficit spending and introducing tax rebates
• Bringing elections back to paper ballots with ID requirements

The vote-counting process was managed by an impartial third party, and the logistics of the leadership review were overseen by Returning Officer Mark Robertson, who crisscrossed the province over the summer, travelling more than 12,000 kilometres to ensure members had a chance to participate. “This became my excellent summer adventure,” Robertson said. “From the Kootenays to the Island, the Cariboo to the Okanagan, I had the privilege of seeing firsthand the enthusiasm of our members and the strength of our party’s grassroots.”

The Conservative Party of BC extended thanks to Robertson, the volunteers, and the vote-counting team for what it described as a “fair and accessible” process.

With the leadership review now behind him, Rustad will lead the party into the next provincial election, where he hopes to expand on the Conservatives’ recent growth and position the party as a serious right-of-centre alternative to the BC NDP and BC United.