While Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford attacked the federal Conservative campaign during and after the election, BC Conservative Leader John Rustad shared a message of encouragement and unity with the movement.
Rustad shared on X Wednesday that he commends the Conservative Party of Canada for gaining both votes and seats and forming a “principled strong opposition,” after Monday’s election.
This comes after Conservative MP Jamil Jivani criticized Ford for “sabotaging” the federal campaign, while the CPC did not interfere in the Ontario election just months earlier.
“Millions of Canadians rallied behind Pierre’s message of affordability, freedom, and common sense. Across Canada, and especially here in BC, I am encouraged to see the emergence of an energized, strengthened, and durable Conservative movement that includes more young Canadians, new Canadians, and blue collar Canadians than ever before,” Rustad said in a post.
He went on to say that conservatives across the country should support one another, especially if they are aligned in policy.
“For our broader movement to have the best chance to succeed, I believe Conservatives must support Conservatives at all levels of government,” he said in the post. “It takes political courage, but I believe — if conservative parties are aligned on policy and approach — it’s the right thing to do.”
This comes after Ford announced that he would hold the federal Liberal government accountable and demand a tough-on-crime approach to stop repeat violent offenders from being granted bail.
During the announcement, which aligned with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s campaign, he was asked why he didn’t support Poilievre when he was making the same announcements. He said because he “shouldn’t interfere in the federal election,
Jivani criticized the Ontario Premier, accusing him of interfering when he echoed negative comments from his campaign manager, Kory Teneycke, on a “mismanaged” federal conservative campaign.
Rustad said his team took the opposite approach, instead donating time and energy to advocate for Poilievre’s movement, identifying it as part of a broader conservative movement in Canada.
“I am proud that here in BC, our team of MLAs spent time calling, organizing, and advocating for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party of Canada. To every candidate who put their name forward, to every volunteer who gave their time, and to every Canadian who voted for change — I want to personally thank you,” Rustad said. “The future of Canada’s conservative movement is bigger than any one election.”
He said western conservatives now have a mission to renew and rework the Confederation to “create conditions for the West” to thrive, vowing that the conservative movement in Canada “will not stop.”
“While I did not support a fourth term for his Liberal government, this is the choice Canadians have made. This government now bears the responsibility of delivering results in a country that is more divided, more strained, and more urgently demanding change than ever before,” Rustad said. “We will all be watching closely, for the future of BC and Canada, the stakes have never been higher.”
Similar to Poilievre, Rustad’s BC Conservatives ran a tight race against the incumbent left-wing provincial party, David Eby’s BC NDP. Eby eeked out a razor-thin majority, while the federal Liberal party just barely missed forming a majority.