John Rustad

John Rustad (born 1963) is a Canadian politician who is the current leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia. He first became a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of British Columbia in 2005, representing Prince George–Omineca. He currently represents the constituency of Nechako Lakes, which he has held since the 2009 election. Previously a member of the BC Liberal caucus, he served in Premier Christy Clark's cabinet as Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, and Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

Background and personal life
Born in Prince George, Rustad is a lifelong resident of northern BC, and has lived with his wife Kim in Cluculz Lake since 2009. 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. Between 2002 and 2005, he served as a trustee with School District 57 Prince George.

BC Liberals
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. 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.

He retained his seat in the 2013 election, and was appointed Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation by Premier Christy Clark. He kept his cabinet post following his re-election in 2017, 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. 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. 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; he then sat in the legislature as an independent politician.

Leader of the BC Conservatives (2023–present)
On February 16, 2023, Rustad joined the BC Conservative Party, giving the party representation in the legislature. Rustad cited "irreconcilable differences" with Falcon in explaining his party change.

On March 23, 2023, Rustad announced that he was running to be the leader of the BC Conservatives. He was acclaimed as the leader of the Conservatives on March 31, 2023, succeeding Trevor Bolin.

On September 13, 2023, BC United MLA Bruce Banman crossed the floor to join the Conservatives. This gave the Conservatives the two MLAs necessary for official party status.

Opinion polling
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. 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.