BC’s Hard Shift to the Right After A Chaotic Year of Provincial Politics

With a provincial election that left the BC NDP in government by a small margin, there’s no doubt that 2024 signalled a clear shift to the far-right with the expressed support of extreme candidates with extreme positions. 

Here’s a look back at some of the stories that captured our attention during this past October’s chaotic BC provincial election.

What started as a battle between BC’s centre-right and far-right parties, BC United and the BC Conservatives, quickly transformed into a BC Conservative stronghold, with candidates from the former moving over to the Conservatives as BC United began to collapse.

Many questioned if the BC Conservatives extreme views, which included leader John Rustad’s anti-scientific positions on climate change, would cause the party to lose support, but Rustad vowed he wouldn’t change despite past backlash for his controversial views. 

Rustad had previously rejected the claim that climate change was a crisis.

Rustad continued his conspiratorial approach toward climate change when he delivered a speech at a 2023 convoy event where he warned attendees that children will soon be forced into eating bugs. 

Rustad wasn’t the only BC Conservative to support the convoy by attending convoy-related events—it was revealed that a handful of BC Conservative candidates donated to the freedom convoy.

One newly-elected BC Conservative MLA, Anna Kindy, even spoke alongside Rustad at convoy-affiliated events about “Reclaiming Canada” and celebrating the anniversary of the freedom convoy. 

Kindy admitted at another event that she had received a letter from the BC College of Physicians and Surgeons, for “spreading misinformation,” related to COVID-19 and vaccines. 

COVID-19 conspiracy theories were commonly held and perpetuated by Conservative candidates, including by Rustad who once claimed that the province would participate in Nuremberg-style COVID-19 trials.

Following PressProgress’ reporting, Rustad issued a statement clarifying his position on “Nuremburg 2.0.”

“In a recent interview, I misunderstood the question posed to me and wish to be unequivocal in my response,” Rustad’s statement read. “Any attempt to compare or equate the Nuremberg Trials or Nazi Germany to the COVID-19 pandemic is completely inappropriate and unacceptable.”

However, Rustad’s statement didn’t stop other candidates from his party from making similar controversial statements. 

Another Conservative candidate, Mike Harris, also posted COVID-19 conspiracies on his social media, claiming that hairdryers could cure COVID-19.

The video suggests those experiencing symptoms should blow hot air up their nose with a hairdryer as a home remedy for COVID-19. Harris later claimed that the video was shared by one of his staff members.

Brent Chapman, the highly controversial candidate for Surrey-South who ultimately got elected, also compared public health measures to the Holocaust, warned of United Nations conspiracies about trying to control Canada and posted anti-refugee content.

Chapman also apologized for anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian statements he had made in the past. 

Other party candidates, including leader John Rustad also faced backlash for statements that were considered “offensive and insulting” to Indigenous communities, including during the leader’s debate. 

Rustad has previously signaled that the BC Conservatives hope to repeal the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples, focusing instead on what Rustad calls “economic reconciliation.”

The Moose Hide Campaign, an Indigenous-led campaign to raise awareness against gender-based violence recently banned Rustad from wearing the Moose Hide pin for not upholding “standards of respect including respect for Indigenous Peoples and for those along the gender continuum.”

Rustad also came under fire last year for a tweet on National Truth and Reconciliation Day, during which he drew an analogy between residential schools and the anti-LGBTQ+ “parental rights” movement.

BC Conservative candidates including Sheldon Clare, have also faced criticism for engaging in residential school denialism and suggesting that residential schools actually “offered benefits” to children forced out of their communities and into the schools.

The party spokesperson Anthony Koch also came under fire for attacks on women and people of colour, with a coalition of organizations representing religious and racialized groups across Canada issuing a joint letter calling on John Rustad’s BC Conservatives to hold their party spokesperson accountable for a “pattern of harmful behaviour.” 

Other criticisms levelled by community groups included the party’s stance on involuntary care for people who use drugs and a statement from candidate Elenore Sturko who compared people living on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to stray animals.

The party also received backlash for using anti-2SLGBTQ+ ideologies as a “wedge issue,” signalling that they would remove SOGI teaching materials from schools.

But the headlines didn’t stop there.

A leaked dossier revealed 200 pages of controversial and conspiratorial statements made by Conservative candidates ranging from conspiracy theories around COVID-19, 15 minute cities, and conspiracies about the World Economic Forum. 

However, despite the limitless controversy clouding the party, a number of candidates holding extreme positions were still elected during BC’s provincial elections.

Looking ahead to 2025, it’s likely that these same BC newsmakers will continue to make headlines while in office, demonstrating there is much at stake with politicians with these kinds of beliefs holding power in provincial politics.