Freedom Convoy Donor List Includes Names of Several Candidates for John Rustad’s BC Conservatives
One BC Conservative candidate was a headline speaker at a convoy conference alongside BC Conservative leader John Rustad
As John Rustad plans to reevaluate candidates under an “improved vetting process,” a leaked list of Freedom Convoy donors appears to show the names of several candidates for the Conservative Party of British Columbia.
BC Conservative candidates had been making headlines for controversial and conspiratorial statements in prior to this week’s announcement that the BC United Party would be folding and effectively merge with the BC Conservatives.
In a statement, the BC Conservatives said that “as part of the agreement, the Conservative Party of BC has committed to review candidates base on an improved vetting process.”
That could pose a problem for four BC Conservative candidates whose names appear on a list of Freedom Convoy donors that was part of a data leak connected to the convoy’s GiveSendGo crowdfunding campaign.
According to data reviewed by PressProgress, names and postal codes matching Jaclyn Aubichon, BC Conservative candidate for West Vancouver–Capliano, and Rosalyn Bird, BC Conservative candidate for Prince George-Valemount, appear on the Freedom Convoy donor list.
The names of Anna Kindy, BC Conservative candidate for North Island and Ndellie Mwanangulu-Massey, BC Conservative candidate for New Westminster-Coquitlam, also appear on the list of donors.
Names of BC Conservative candidates on Freedom Convoy GiveSendGo donor list
None of the four BC Conservative candidates responded to questions from PressProgress about why their names appear on the list of Freedom Convoy donors.
Anna Kindy also spoke at convoy-affiliated events alongside BC Conservative leader John Rustad, including an event centered on “Reclaiming Canada” and celebrating the anniversary of the freedom convoy.
Kindy’s bio on the conference website says she “joined the freedom movement” in order to “advocate for informed consent” on vaccines. Other conference speakers included convoy leaders Chris Barber, Brian Peckford and Daniel Bulford, as well as Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms president John Carpay.
At the time, BC United suggested Kindy and Rustad’s appearance at the conference demonstrated that the BC Conservatives is “extremist” and “completely out of touch with the values of mainstream British Columbians.”
At another convoy-related protest in BC, Kindy spoke about vaccines in front of the BC College of Physicians and Surgeons, sharing that she “received a letter from the college, for spreading misinformation.”
BC Conservative candidate Anna Kindy at 2022 anti-vaccine protest (Rebel Media)
A number of Rustad’s BC Conservative candidates have already come under fire for strange and controversial views, including some who have already stepped down.
Recently, Rachael Weber, the BC Conservative candidate for Prince George-Mackenzie and a local school trustee in Prince George, made reference to a COVID-19 conspiracy in a Facebook post that called 5G cell towers “genocidal weapons” and the cause of the pandemic..
In response, Rustad defended Weber’s comments and dismissed criticism of her conspiratorial statements as “cancel culture.”
In an interview defending Weber on CKPG News, Rustad said he supports “all of our candidates”:
“I support all of our candidates and the work that they’re doing. I’m not going to allow cancel culture to take root in this province, I think it’s done too much damage. It’s been a significant part of the left-wing’s tools in terms of attacking people and going away from the real issues that are out there such as the overdoses we’ve been seeing, safe supply and decriminalization and the damage that’s done.”
John Rustad’s BC Conservative candidate for Prince George-Mackenzie believes 5G is a genocidal weapon and the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic.
John Rustad’s party isn’t a Conservative Party, it’s a Conspiracy Party. pic.twitter.com/qct5W7QV21
— BC United (@voteBCUnited) August 20, 2024
Another BC Conservative candidate in Stikine, BC has also posted conspiracy theories relating to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, and has repeatedly praised Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich, whom she calls an “inspiration.”
BC Conservative Candidate for Bulkley Valley–Stikine Sharon Hartwell has also advocated for Trump’s reelection and agreed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should be “tried for treason.”
In May, Rustad acknowledged the “party’s vetting system failed to catch the social media posts” of Damon Scrace, the BC Conservative Candidate for Courtenay-Comox,who was removed for anti-LGBTQ+ views, as well as saying “COVID-19 vaccines were like Mayan sacrifices, Nazism and apartheid.”
Paul Ratchford, the BC Conservatives candidate for Vancouver-Point Grey, also previously attacked another BC Conservative nominee Elenore Sturko on Twitter, calling her a “woke, lesbian, social justice warrior.”
When asked about it, Rustad replied: “These sort of things happen.”
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