Conservative Party of British Columbia

Conservative Party of British Columbia
Leader	John Rustad
President	Aisha Estey
Founded	1903; 121 years ago (1903)
Preceded by	Liberal-Conservative Party (1903–1926) Conservative Party (1926–1942) Progressive Conservative Party (1942–1991)
Headquarters	1434 Ironwood Street Unit 327 Campbell River, British Columbia V9W 5T5
Membership (2024)	~9,000[1]
Ideology	Conservatism Right-wing populism
Political position	Centre-right to right-wing
Colours	Blue
Legislative Assembly	44 / 93
Website
conservativebc.ca
Politics of British Columbia Political parties Elections

The Conservative Party of British Columbia, commonly known as the BC Conservatives and colloquially known as the Tories, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada.^[2] It is the main rival to the governing British Columbia New Democratic Party and forms the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. It is led by John Rustad, who was originally elected as a British Columbia Liberal Party MLA in 2005 before being expelled from the Liberal caucus in 2022.^[3]

In the first half of the 20th century, the Conservatives competed with the BC Liberal Party for power in the province. During this period, three party leaders served as premier of British Columbia: Richard McBride (1903–1915), William John Bowser (1915–1916), and Simon Fraser Tolmie (1928–1933). Royal Maitland and Herbert Anscomb served as deputy premiers, both during the coalition governments of the 1940s. The party's influence diminished in the second half of the century, with the Conservatives having only a minor presence in the legislature after the 1950s. However, the party saw a resurgence under Rustad's leadership in the 2024 provincial election, winning the second-most seats in its best electoral performance in 72 years.^[4][5]

While both of its members tend to support each other, and both parties have roughly the same platform, the BC Conservatives have no organizational link to the federal Conservative Party of Canada, and as such does not operate as their provincial wing in the province.