B.C. Conservatives 'accept differences' among members as party meets, leader says

Marcy Nicholson · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 01, 2025 3:19 PM EST | Last Updated: March 2

UPDATE, March 1 — B.C. Conservative members grapple with the aboriginal absorption of the large structure party

ORIGINAL STORY:

The fledgling B.C. Conservative Party volition clasp its yearly wide gathering this play arsenic members effort to find their feet, 2 weeks into the provincial legislative session, a elder person and Conservative subordinate said. 

Peter Milobar, the Conservative MLA for Kamloops, said successful an interrogation that the enactment and its divers scope of candidates came unneurotic "under precise unusual circumstances," successful the mediate of the summertime and conscionable weeks earlier a wide predetermination was called. 

"I spot that we're a precise caller party, truly astatine its core," helium said. "And so, I deliberation we're inactive uncovering our feet." 

The enactment had existed connected the fringes of B.C. authorities for years, but it went from having nary members elected successful the erstwhile provincial predetermination to wrong a whisker of forming authorities successful October, with its 44 members making up the Official Opposition.

Its emergence came aft Kevin Falcon of the B.C. United Party suspended the party's predetermination run past August successful bid to not divided the ballot connected the right, arsenic enactment for the Conservatives surged.

Some B.C. United members of the legislature -- including Milobar -- jumped to the Conservatives. Others tried the Independent way and lost. 

The effect is simply a caucus with divergent views that person been connected show during the legislative session. B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad described it arsenic "family" issues. 

WATCH | Tariff question exposes divided B.C. Conservative caucus: 

When asked this week if determination was a rift wrong the party, Rustad brushed it off. 

"You know, I find it absorbing due to the fact that for the media, and I deliberation for the public, they've ne'er seen a governmental enactment that accepts differences."

He said helium expected the party's AGM successful Nanaimo, B.C., to beryllium a "democratic process" wherever members marque decisions connected modernizing the enactment and making definite it is prepared to instrumentality connected the NDP successful the adjacent election.

 WATCH | Tory MLA condemned implicit residential schools post: 

Cracks wrong the caucus became wide erstwhile Conservative MLA Dallas Brodie posted connected societal media connected Feb. 22 that determination were "zero" confirmed kid burial sites astatine the erstwhile residential schoolhouse successful Kamloops, B.C.

Rustad said helium asked her to instrumentality it down, but the station remains up a week later. 

Conservative location leader, Áʼa꞉líya Warbus, who is Indigenous, said questioning the narratives of those who survived residential schoolhouse atrocities is harmful, though she denied she was responding to Brodie's post. 

Milobar didn't notation names either erstwhile helium spoke astir residential schoolhouse "denialism" successful the legislature this week. 

But helium said helium had vowed to those successful the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation, wherever the erstwhile Kamloops Indian Residential School sits, that helium would ever talk up against it.

"As you know, my wife, my kids, they're each Indigenous. My grandchildren are Indigenous, my son-in-law is simply a Kamloops set member. 

"These types of things are precise personal, and truthful erstwhile denialism does from clip to clip rise up successful the broader conversation, some in B.C. and crossed the country, it has a nonstop interaction connected Tk'emlups," helium said successful an affectional speech.

Conservative members volition elite a caller committee during the play convention, but Rustad told reporters this week that determination "isn't a mechanism" for a enactment reappraisal astatine this meeting. 

However, helium said members would beryllium asked this twelvemonth if they privation a enactment review, successful enactment with the party's constitution.