| John Rustad | |
| Office: | Leader of Conservative Party of British Columbia |
| Term Start: | March 31, 2023 |
| Predecessor: | Trevor Bolin |
| Office1: | Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations of British Columbia |
| Premier1: | Christy Clark |
| Term Start1: | June 22, 2017 |
| Term End1: | July 18, 2017 |
| Predecessor1: | Steve Thomson |
| Successor1: | Doug Donaldson (Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development) |
| Office2: | Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation of British Columbia |
| Premier2: | Christy Clark |
| Term Start2: | June 10, 2013 |
| Term End2: | July 18, 2017 |
| Predecessor2: | Ida Chong |
| Successor2: | Scott Fraser |
| Assembly3: | British Columbia Legislative |
| Constituency Am3: | Nechako Lakes |
| Term Start3: | May 17, 2005 |
| Predecessor3: | Paul Nettleton |
| Birth Date: | 18 August 1963[1] |
| Birth Place: | Prince George, British Columbia, Canada[2] |
| Residence: | Cluculz Lake, British Columbia |
John Rustad (born August 18, 1963) is a Canadian politician who is the current leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia. He was first elected as a BC Liberal to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in 2005, representing Prince George–Omineca.[3] He currently represents the constituency of Nechako Lakes, which he has held since the 2009 election.[4] He served in Premier Christy Clark's cabinet as Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, and Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
Born in Prince George, Rustad is a lifelong resident of northern BC, and has lived with his wife Kim in Cluculz Lake since 2009.[5] Prior to provincial politics, he had worked in the forest sector for two decades, founding a consulting firm named Western Geographic Information Systems Inc. in 1995.[6] Between 2002 and 2005, he served as a trustee with School District 57 Prince George.[6] [7]
Rustad was first elected to the legislature in 2005 as a BC Liberal candidate, representing the riding of Prince George-Omineca. Following the riding's dissolution, he was re-elected in 2009 in the current Nechako Lakes riding.[4] In his first two terms, he served as Parliamentary Secretary for Forestry to the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, and as a member of the Environment and Land Use Committee, Legislative Review Committee, Treasury Board, Select Standing Committee on Education, Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Select Standing Committee on Health.[5]
He retained his seat in the 2013 election, and was appointed Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation by Premier Christy Clark.[5] He kept his cabinet post following his re-election in 2017,[8] and added the role of Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations to his duties after Steve Thomson's election as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[9] Rustad continued in both ministerial roles until that July, when the Liberal minority government was defeated in a non-confidence motion.
He was re-elected in 2020, and served as the Liberals' critic for Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.[6] After suggesting online that carbon dioxide emissions were not contributing to climate change, Rustad was removed from the Liberal caucus by leader Kevin Falcon on August 18, 2022;[10] he then sat in the legislature as an independent politician.[7] [11]
On February 16, 2023, Rustad joined the BC Conservative Party, giving the party representation in the legislature.[11] Rustad cited "irreconcilable differences" with Falcon in explaining his party change.[12]
On March 23, 2023, Rustad announced that he was running to be the leader of the BC Conservatives.[13] He was acclaimed as the leader of the Conservatives on March 31, 2023, succeeding Trevor Bolin.[14]
On September 13, 2023, BC United MLA Bruce Banman crossed the floor to join the Conservatives.[15] This gave the Conservatives the two MLAs necessary for official party status.[16]
Since Rustad became leader, the BC Conservatives have overtaken BC United (formerly the BC Liberals until 2023) as the second most popular party in the province and are competing with the BC NDP for most popular. An Abacus Data poll in December 2023 put the Conservatives' popular vote share at 26 percent, ahead of BC United at 17 percent but behind the BC NDP at 44 percent.[17] Later in August 2024, two months before the provincial election, a Mainstreet Research poll placed the Conservatives' popular vote share at 39 percent, ahead of both BC United at 12 percent and the BC NDP at 36 percent.[18]