Poll shows most British Columbians dissatisfied with Rustad, would ask him to step down

Facing defections and discord from within the B.C. Conservative Party, a new poll suggests that most British Columbians would also like Leader John Rustad to resign.

The poll by the Angus Reid Institute asked over 1,000 respondents about Rustad — a resounding 64 per cent hold an unfavourable opinion of him, while 59 per cent said they would tell him to step down.

Last week, a letter signed by seven members of the party’s management committee, including President Aisha Estey, offered the same advice amid what the committee described as a “state of chaos.”

It adds that Rustad’s decisions and actions have destabilized the party’s cohesion and diminished its credibility.

“As the leader, it is your responsibility to unite the party around a common vision and to lead us forward with purpose and clarity. As evidenced by sagging poll numbers, memberships, fundraising, a shrinking caucus and staff, philosophically inconsistent policy, low morale and perhaps most importantly, a lack of enthusiasm and tepid endorsement from our membership, your leadership has ceased to serve that purpose,” the letter said.

According to the poll, conducted across the three days after the letter was made public, 48 per cent of those who voted for the party in 2024 would tell Rustad to resign. Another 31 per cent of that group wasn’t sure what advice it would give him.

“Therein lies a conundrum for the provincial Conservatives,” said the Angus Reid Institute.

“Its fortunes have declined since last year, bleeding away voters now disaffected with the leader and the party. And while a smaller number are sticking with the party today, this group is slightly more resolute in its backing of Rustad, with more holding favourable views of him than the whole of the 2024 vote base.”

Meanwhile, the same poll found many British Columbians aren’t happy with the governing BC NDP either.

Just over half — 53 per cent — say British Columbia is on the “wrong track” under the Eby government, while slightly more – 56 per cent – say they are “dissatisfied” with its performance.

Overall, the institute says the ‘vote picture’ remains mostly unchanged from the election season one year ago, with the Conservatives holding a “statistically insignificant” one-point lead at 41 per cent over the NDP’s 40 per cent. Rustad’s favourability, though, has declined from an 84 per cent high in the same span.

The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from Oct. 23 to 25, 2025, among a randomized sample of 1,044 Canadian adults who live in B.C. and are members of the Angus Reid Forum. A probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.