Rustad’s partner in rise of B.C. Conservatives hails him as party’s ‘founding father’

VICTORIA — John Rustad is a trailblazer who transformed British Columbia’s political scene, but the “founding father” of the provincial Conservative party will not be running in the Oct. 24 province vote.

Angelo Isidorou, the former B.C. Conservative Party executive credited with helping the party’s resurgence in the 2024 election, said Thursday that Rustad was “excommunicated and sent to the wilderness” when he was expelled from the B.C. Liberals in 2022.

“He came back and created a movement,” he said.

“His legacy is going to be a signal to people to not underestimate anyone, who is hungry for change,” he said.

Isidorou said the B.C. Conservatives would not exist in their modern form without the legislator from northern B.C., who was first elected under the provincial Liberals in 2005 and served as a cabinet minister.

The Conservatives received less than two per cent of the vote in the 2020 provincial election, but Isidorou said Rustad legitimatized the party when he joined in February 2023, then convinced Bruce Banman to follow, giving the party status in the legislature.

The Conservatives came within three seats of forming government in the October 2024 election.

A little over a year later he was forced out as a leader amid infighting, departures and expulsions of caucus members.

The party experienced another phase of turmoil during the final weeks of Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s leadership before her resignation on Sunday.

Most of legislators who either quit or were fired during Findlay’s reign have since returned and the party made note of the surging in opinion polls on Thursday.

Rustad’s departure means that he won’t be part of a possible Conservative government, a prospect not lost on Isidorou.

“As you say, he will not see that Promised Land necessarily, but I also think that on some level he knew that was always a chance. He always knew that was a possibility, and he did it anyway, which tells you that this was not ever for his glory, but rather for the province.”

Isidorou said Rustad was working hard and pushed himself to the limits in the months after joining the party.

“So, I just think it is an amazing long career, and he is a founding father of this modern Conservative party.”

He said Rustad was underestimated by opponents, whether it was the NDP or BC United, which folded its campaign in August 2024 as the Conservatives soared in pre-election polls.

Rustad suffered his second ejection from an opposition caucus last Friday, when he was thrown out of the Conservatives by Findlay, only to return after Findlay quit the leadership and was replaced by interim leader Lorne Doerkson.

Rustad said Wednesday that the party is in good hands with Doerkson, but that his own time as a legislator is over.

“Serving this province and serving Nechako Lakes has been some of the most rewarding times of my life,” he said in a statement. “I’m grateful for every year of it.”

Rustad, who could not be immediately reached for comment, raised the possibility of leaving when he spoke with reporters in Victoria the day before NDP Leader David Eby called the election.

“But my goal has never changed, which is we need to replace this NDP government,” he said.

Reflecting on his time as leader, Rustad said he made a “tremendous number of mistakes,” he said.

Isidorou said there were some mistakes in the run-up of the last election.

“We had assumed in 2024 that the election would have been called in March instead of October, and because of that assumption, we ran candidates very fast. We didn’t spend a lot of time vetting.”

Conservatives also did not spend a lot of time conceptualizing the possibility that they might be close to winning, he said.

“I think as a result, the moment we won 44 seats, we knew that it was going to be a challenge to keep everybody happy,” he said.

Isidorou said he hopes Rustad will use his time after politics to pursue one of his loves.

“I hope he manages to golf on every golf course in this province that he loves.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press