BC Conservative party channels some familiar themes in latest reincarnation

They've been somewhat on the fringes of the BC political scene for a number of years now, but over the summer the BC Conservative party launched an image makeover that they hope will translate into greater awareness and more importantly votes and MLA's by the time the next election comes around.

The launch came with a recent video presentation that provides a glimpse into their new focus and talking points. 

Many of their themes seem taken from the recent successful leadership campaign of Pierre Poilievre at the federal level; with more than a few of their themes the campaign positions of the controversial federal Tory.

The party found a bit of success in the recent Surrey By-election, which saw their candidate Harman Banghu gain just under 13 percent of the vote, which while far short of the winning BC Liberal total of 51.8 percent, did at least get the party into the election conversation.

The BC Conservatives noting of some positive press and the influence that former BC Liberal MLA John Rustad may have had in that contest.

Mr. Rustad, a once upon a time Cabinet Minister in past BC Liberal Governments,  was removed from the BC Liberal Party caucus by Leader Kevin Falcon in August, after his commentary on climate change themes.

While he currently sits as an Independent in the Legislature, his endorsement of Mr. Bhangu in late August would seem to indicate that Mr. Rustdad may have a political home with the Conservative Party of BC should he be looking for one.  

He certainly would give them a higher profile and voice in the Chamber should he take on that political affiliation in his duties as the current MLA for Neckako Lakes .

Should the still incubating Conservative party of BC gain some traction, the most impact probably will be felt by the BC Liberals, which is more likely to find some of their supporters moving that way ... than any supporters of the BC NDP will.

You can review some of the new narratives for the BC Conservatives from the Social Media stream and Website.

More notes on provincial politics can be reviewed from our Legislature archive as well as through our political Blog D'Arcy McGee and our Victoria Viewpoints feature.