Vaughn Palmer: Liberals cannot win next B.C. election, defector says

VICTORIA — When B.C. Liberal leader Kevin Falcon ousted MLA John Rustad from the Opposition caucus last summer, he must have anticipated that a payback would be coming soon enough.

It happened Thursday.

Rustad, after six months as an independent, announced he will henceforth sit in the legislature as a B.C. Conservative.

Five terms as a B.C. Liberal MLA. Wins his Northern B.C. seat handily, with an average 54 per cent of the vote. Former cabinet minister in the Christy Clark government. Advocate for the forest sector and natural gas development.

Now he’s given the Conservatives, perennial also-rans in provincial elections for decades, their first toehold in the legislature in a dozen years.