VANCOUVER -- John Rustad has taken to social media to describe his origin story as leader of British Columbia's Conservative Party, which he took from obscurity to the brink of power in Saturday's provincial election.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind Premier David Eby's New Democrats.
Rustad has shared a photo on social media platform X showing himself sharing a pint with staffer Azim Jiwani and the Conservatives' executive director, Angelo Isidorou, at a pub in Vancouver.
He says the trio gathered two years ago, after the B.C. Liberal Party kicked him out on his birthday in August 2022 over his support for a climate change skeptic.
He says he considered retiring, but his wife, Kim, convinced him to stay in politics and his friend Jiwani suggested a meeting with Isidorou.
Rustad says they "shared a pint of Guinness" and discussed breathing life into a new party that would give "grassroots voters a new option for genuine change."
The result of the election won't be known until at least next week, with manual recounts taking place in two ridings where the NDP holds a narrow lead, and with 49,000 absentee and mail-in ballots yet to be counted.
The counting that Elections BC says will take place from Oct. 26 to 28 will also help determine what role the two elected Greens will play, with their support essential for any minority government.
Rustad says the party's "work is just getting started," and his post thanks more than 800,000 people who voted Conservative.
The Nechako Lakes MLA sat briefly as an Independent after being ejected by the Liberals, then joined the B.C. Conservatives and was acclaimed leader in March 2023.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.