The BC Conservatives are riding high poll numbers across the province that should scare the BC United Party, and the party leader says the Okanagan already could be theirs.

The Conservatives, once a political backwater barely making a dent in the polls for many years, are now running in a dead heat with the United party, formerly the governing BC Liberal Party.  

“Most of the polls that we have looked at have us in second place and our internal polling in the Interior through the Okanagan region actually has us first place in most areas,” John Rustad, leader of the BC Conservatives, says. “We are looking to challenge the NDP for government in 2024…, We are going to have candidates running in every riding across the province.”

The party didn't have an MLA until Rustad crossed the floor from the BC Liberals in February. He was joined last month by Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman to qualify for official party status and a whole lot of momentum going into next year's election.  

Rustad said party’s sudden rise in popularity is due to several reasons.

“We’re seeing what is the collapse of the BC United party, and the BC Conservatives are, I believe, becoming the new coalition party in this province; it’s not about being conservative, or liberal, or NDP, or green, it’s just about standing for what’s right, being straight up with people and fighting for the average everyday person,” Rustad says. “What we’re seeing really is more of a grassroots movement, it’s people who are tired of politics as usual, they’re tired of ideology and these hardcore policies that have left them out, for example, blue-collar workers feel like they’re being left out and ignored, half the people in this province are having a hard time putting food on the table which is ignored by the government and other opposition parties, and we want to change that.”

The party will be tackling issues that are close to the heart of many Okanagan residents.

“The main issues that we’re going to be fighting for are affordability, eliminating the carbon tax, reducing other taxes where we can, looking at agriculture and seeing agriculture expand, we’re going to be very focused as well on significant changes to healthcare, to education, and, in general, putting people at the center of what we do,” Rustad says. “For healthcare, we don’t need to be throwing more money at the problems, we need to rework how we do healthcare, we need to look at a blended model, universal healthcare as seen in other countries where it’s delivered by multiple sources both public and private.”

When asked what really sets the party apart from other, historically more popular parties, Rustad states that it’s putting the people before the politics.

“We are going to have our candidates take a pledge that their number one priority will always be their constituents, fighting for them, speaking out on their behalf, voting on their behalf, and having the party come second.”

He says that the party has been pulling supporters from both the BC United Party and the NDP.

The BC Election will take place on or before Oct. 19, 2024. Current independent polling projections can be seen on 338Canada’s website.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Gabrielle Adams or call (250) 863-7592 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2023