Following Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dallas Brodie's removal from the Conservative Party of B.C. Friday (March 7), two of her fellow MLAs have left the Conservatives 鈥� with possible plans to start a new political party.
Shortly after B.C. Conservative Leader ousted Brodie from the caucus, Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy and Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream MLA Tara Armstrong announced they would both be leaving the party. Both threw blame at Rustad. All three are already listed as independents on the Legislative Assembly of B.C.'s website.
Kealy posted to Facebook first saying it was on Thursday he witnessed firsthand how toxic the Conservative Party of B.C. had become.
"Some of the worst bullies sit in the legislature, and the BC Conservatives are no exception. I stood up for a fellow MLA who was harassed for speaking the truth, only to become a target myself," Kealy said in his social media post.
"The party has created an environment where some so-called 鈥淐onservatives鈥� would rather throw cheap insults than deal with facts. There were no apologies, no accountability, and I refuse to stand with those who either enable or ignore that kind of behavior."
It was on Thursday that Brodie reportedly challenged the caucus to "fire her" and asked Conservative MLAs to have a vote on removing her, according to a statement from Rustad. Brodie then reportedly walked out of the caucus room.
Brodie had come under fire from the public, the NDP and fellow Conservative MLAs for her posted to X on Feb. 22 as the party's then-attorney general critic claiming "apparent mistreatment" of a lawyer who is suing his own law society for libel after having asked the society to reword training materials around residential schools. In her posts, she said "the confirmed number of child burials at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School site is zero ... No one should be afraid of the truth. Not lawyers, their governing bodies, or anyone else."
Brodie refused to take down the post and posted her letter to Attorney General Niki Sharma on March 4.
On a recent podcast appearance, Rustad said Brodie used "a mocking, child-like voice to belittle testimony from former residential school students, saying things like 'my grandmother鈥檚 truth' and 'my truth, your truth' in a child-like 鈥榳hining鈥� voice." He referenced that podcast in his decision to remove her from the caucus.
Brodie posted to X hours after her removal from caucus, saying she "spoke the truth because it matters." She doubled down on her claims of zero bodies found at residential schools and said the truth is a threat to "powerful vested interests in the multi-billion-dollar reconciliation industry."
"Politicians like David Eby and John Rustad are willing to sell off British Columbia鈥檚 wealth and power, transferring it from the public to an elite racial minority鈥攅nriching opportunistic lawyers, consultants, and chiefs along the way."
Kealy also put the blame Eby and Rustad, saying he had lost faith in the latter.
"I鈥檝e always fought for the people of Peace River North, and I鈥檓 not stopping now. Our region helped build this province, but the BC NDP has run it into the ground. They鈥檝e buried our industries in red tape and made BC a terrible place to invest. I鈥檒l keep holding them accountable and fighting to bring back the prosperity we deserve," he said.
"But I can鈥檛 do that while stuck in a party that鈥檚 eating itself alive. The BC Conservatives have turned into "Liberal United Conservative 2.0"鈥攄ifferent name, same backroom games."
Armstrong said that under Rustad's leadership, "one compromise after another has transformed that party into something I no longer recognize."
"No one was surprised when David Eby attacked Dallas Brodie for telling the truth about Kamloops. But John Rustad鈥檚 cowardly decision to stab her in the back revealed just how corrupt he has become."
Armstrong said this was "just the tip of the iceberg" and would be sharing more in the coming days, while Kealy alluded to starting a new political party.
Kealy, meanwhile, alluded to starting a new political party. Two seats are needed for official party status in the B.C. legislature.
It's reminiscent of when Rustad was ousted from the now-defunct B.C. United caucus in August 2022, which was followed by Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman defecting from the party. Rustad and Banman joined together to bring back the Conservative Party of B.C. to the provincial legislature.
With Brodie ousted, and Kealy and Armstrong defecting from the party, it brings the Conservatives down to 41 seats, widening the B.C.'s NDP's slim majority. The B.C. Greens hold two seats.
