B.C. Conservative leadership race will unify party members: Halford

B.C. Conservatives' interim leader Trevor Halford says he believes the party's leadership race will unify its members and give the party a new vision.

It was a surreal moment on a day full of such moments.

Trevor Halford walked into the main chamber of the British Columbia legislature on Dec. 3 as interim leader of his Conservative Party of B.C., following an appointment by the party board.

Hours earlier, 20 Conservative MLAs had released a letter in which they said that they had lost confidence in the leadership of John Rustad, following months of internal disputes that had dried up fundraising and diminished the party’s credibility.

The party board released a letter, saying that Rustad, had become “professionally incapacitated.”

But Rustad, who had won his leadership review with 71 per cent, refused to step aside, and minutes after Halford’s arrival, Rustad walked into the chamber to sit in the chair reserved for the leader of the official Opposition, as if nothing had happened.

B.C. Conservatives appeared to have two leaders: one appointed by the party with the majority of caucus behind him, the other, claiming support from the membership and parts of the caucus.

Three seats separated the two men who have known and worked with each other for years, as former B.C. Liberals. But neither acknowledged the other, as they were either typing on their phones, or rifling through papers. Neither spoke during Question Period.

When Halford was asked about that moment, he paused and asked to think about it.