"It is now clear": John Rustad concedes after gritty Conservative election campaign
BC Conservative leader and MLA-elect John Rustad is thanking voters for their support as he concedes his party will not form government despite a very close election result in several ridings.
After a final count on Monday night, BC NDP leader David Eby was asked to form government in a meeting with Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin after the results revealed a narrow majority for his party.
Following the announcement, Rustad shared his sentiments on X, formerly Twitter, calling it a campaign of grit and determination.
“I accept the results of this election. I thank our Elections BC workers for their hard and dedicated work. While there are still judicial recounts to be completed, it’s now clear that our party will not win enough seats to form government in BC,” Rustad shared in a post.
Calling the results “historic” for the party that had no seats in the legislature previously but is now slated to bring 44 MLAs to Victoria, Rustad says he is very proud of the work they have done.
“I want to express my gratitude to every British Columbian who participated in this election and voted. Your engagement in our democratic process is invaluable,” he said on X Monday.
This is an unprecedented result for the party, as it finished with 43.27% of the vote, a jaw-dropping change from the previous result of 2% in the 2020 election.
It’s also a shift for the province, which has traditionally swayed between the New Democrats and the BC Liberals (now BC United), and it means a switch for the opposition party.
“I am ready to begin the important work of leading BC’s official opposition. BC’s Conservative caucus is committed to holding government accountable and advocating for policies that reflect the best interests of all British Columbians. Together, we will work tirelessly to ensure that your voices are heard and that we build a stronger future for all of BC,” Rustad said on social media.
We have made history in BC. Just 18 months ago, the Conservative Party of BC was at 2% in the polls, had no members, no money, no team.
But what we did have was grit, determination and a massive grassroots movement that would make the impossible happen.
I am immensely proud…
— John Rustad (@JohnRustad4BC) October 29, 2024
That spirit of togetherness appeared to be shared by Eby, who spoke about moving forward.
“British Columbians have asked us to work together and make life better for them. That is exactly what we intend to do. A majority of BC voters have elected a legislature that shares common values – like addressing affordability, tackling climate change, making sure health care is there when you need it, and building an inclusive province with safe communities where everyone belongs,” he said in a statement.
However, there was a divisive campaign launched on X in the days leading up to the final count, with conspiracies swirling over secret meetings and miscounting from election officials. Many Conservative officials were applauded for defending Elections BC, but that didn’t appear to sway some who said that the count was taking too long.
While the results seemed slow to many, “results from voting places with tabulators were reported faster than ever before,” Elections BC said on October 20, but the manual count of ballots at non-technology voting, such as phone-in voting, took longer to complete and report. “Extensive out-of-district results from BC’s ‘vote anywhere’ model also took more time to report,” it added.
Plus, two ridings had to be recounted as they had fewer than 100 votes between them: Surrey City Centre and Juan de Fuca-Malahat, which both went to the NDP officially. Then, on Monday, it was revealed that Surrey-Guildford and Kelowna Centre were so close that they now need to go to a judicial recount. The results of that are expected in the coming days, with Kelowna currently showing a Conservative lead, and Surrey-Guildford with a BC NDP lead.