Trevor Halford says he’s focused on moving the B.C. Conservatives forward in the new year and positioning the party as a government-in-waiting.
Halford became interim leader in early December, after John Rustad’s dramatic removal from the top role. It was a course-correction for the Conservatives after a year of internal turmoil that spilled out into the open.
Five caucus members were either kicked out or left the party, and all were sharply critical of Rustad’s leadership. Some of those former members went on to form OneBC, whose platform calls for the introduction of private health care and an end to Indigenous land acknowledgements.
Meanwhile, some MLAs appeared to remain staunchly on Rustad’s team in the chaotic few days in which the party moved to oust him as leader.
Asked how he plans to bridge ideological and political gaps between members going forward, Halford brushed them off as differences of opinion.
“There is a spectrum of views in every single caucus,” said Halford. “I think it’s great that we have some diversified views, but we have to be unified and caucus acknowledges that.”
He said it’s time to “turn the page,” and he’s focused on bringing stability to the party.
“It’s about being disciplined and it’s about thinking about, what are the needs of British Columbia right now?” he said.
Halford’s message to the 70 per cent of voting members who supported Rustad in the Conservative party leadership race last summer is that he appreciates their support for the former leader. But says he wants to address the needs of the majority of British Columbians, who don’t have a party membership in their wallets.
“I think a very, very small, minuscule fraction of British Columbians get caught up in party politics, and I think that’s probably a good thing,” he said.
Halford also said he’s open to more collaboration with the federal Conservatives, after a meeting with leader Pierre Poilievre earlier this month. He said their discussion included the B.C. Conservatives’ calls to walk back the province’s landmark Indigenous rights legislation
Repealing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIPA) was part of the Conservative’s platform in the 2024 provincial election and Halford has continued to hammer the NDP government on the issue.
Premier David Eby has said his government will propose amendments to DRIPA. Eby claims recent court cases are “overreaching” and they put the original intent of the 2019 legislation in jeopardy.
That includes a B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that said courts can decide whether a law is inconsistent with the reconciliation framework, opening the door to more lawsuits against the province.
Another B.C. Supreme Court ruling in August in favour of the Cowichan Tribes land claim in Richmond has also dominated political discourse in recent months and raised questions about the impact on private property rights.
It’s not yet clear what the NDP’s amendments could include, but Halford said the issue can’t wait until the spring session. He reiterated his call for the legislature to return early to repeal DRIPA, saying it has had unintended consequences.
In an interview with Vista News earlier this month, Regional Chief Terry Teegee criticized the attempts to characterize DRIPA as sowing confusion and uncertainty.
“I think this is a clear misrepresentation of the collaborative efforts and respectful dialogue that brought us to the implementation of the Declaration Act.”
Teegee said amending or repealing DRIPA would be “undemocratic,” and “immoral.”
Halford also pointed to health care, crime and the forests industry as pain points the Conservatives will continue to press the NDP government on.
Halford said a timeline for a leadership race will become clear in the new year. While Halford has said he won’t be in the race, a handful of others have come out saying they’re mulling a leadership run.
They include North Island-Powell River MP Aaron Gunn, Langley-Abbotsford MLA Harman Bhangu, Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar and former grocery executive Darrell Jones.
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