British Columbia·AnalysisThe fall legislative session kicks off with a new political party, a new party leader and the NDP facing pressure from public sector unions.BCGEU planning large rally outside legislature on MondayKatie DeRosa · CBC News · Posted: Oct 06, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours agoMLAs are back in Victoria this week at the B.C. Legislature for the fall session. (Ken Mizokoshi/CBC)It’s the same faces but new places for MLAs returning to the legislature for the fall session Monday. High profile MLA Elenore Sturko will now sit as an independent after being kicked out of the B.C. Conservative caucus shortly after party leader John Rustad survived a mandated leadership review.Dallas Brodie, who was also ejected from the conservative ranks earlier this year, has formed her own political party called One B.C., alongside Kelowna MLA Tara Armstong. The B.C. Greens also have a new leader, Emily Lowan. But without a seat, she’ll have to lead from outside the legislature.WATCH I B.C. Greens elect Victoria-based climate activist as new leader: B.C. Greens elect Victoria-based climate activist as new leaderThe B.C. Green Party has chosen Victoria-based climate activist Emily Lowan as its new leader. Former leader Sonia Furstenau stepped down after losing her seat in the October election. Meera Bains has more on what this could mean for the party.And the NDP government is in cost-cutting mode, trying to rein in the $12-billion deficit while facing pressure from public sector unions to hike wages. Political scientist Hamish Telford says that dynamic will likely lead to a “fractious” legislative session. And that fractious energy is expected to spill out of the building: The B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) has encouraged striking employees and supporting unions to surround the legislature, to send a message to the NDP government that their wage offer of a five per cent boost over two years isn’t good enough. It’s still unclear, however, if the BCGEU plans to extend the strike action to unionized employees who work in the legislature, effectively putting the legislature behind a picket line. But Farnworth said there are legal rules around where picket lines can be set up, and that the union will knows what it should and should not do.”They know that the bargaining takes place at the bargaining table,” he said.However, Telford said the optics of a large public sector rally will not be good for the NDP, which has in the past received friendly support from unions. “The NDP is going to be struggling with its own core supporters,” Telford said. “I think a lot of NDP MLAs are going to feel deeply conflicted.”Farnworth says the NDP government plans to pass 18 bills this session, including a bill to pave the way for B.C. Hydro’s North Coast Transmission Line between Prince George and Terrace. B.C. Conservative house leader A’aliya Warbus said the party remains committed to holding the government to account, with a focus on public safety issues, the overdose crisis and the sagging economy. Warbus acknowledged the party has faced “growing pains” since becoming the Official Opposition. Rustad has lost four MLAs — Brodie, Armstrong, Sturko and Jordan Kealy — and has struggled to maintain cohesion in the big tent party. WATCH I MLA Elenore Sturko kicked out of B.C. Conservative caucus MLA Elenore Sturko kicked out of B.C. Conservative caucusSurrey MLA Elenore Sturko has been kicked out of the B.C. Conservative caucus, following the results of John Rustad’s leadership review, in which he maintained support from a majority of those who cast votes. As CBC’s Katie Derosa reports, Sturko says she did not see her removal coming.Rustad is now facing a fresh round of party infighting, following his decision to fire B.C. Conservative caucus staffer Lindsay Shepherd. Shepherd called the the orange Survivors’ flag — which honours residential school survivors — a “disgrace” and a “fake flag.” Shepherd has been an elected board member with the B.C. Conservatives since 2022, before Rustad took the helm.At least two Conservative MLAs and the party’s executive director commented on the post with “100 per cent” and it was shared by the party’s president. Telford said Rustad risks bleeding support to both the left and the right. WATCH I B.C. Conservative leader says Sturko tried to remove him, a claim she denies: B.C. Conservative leader says Elenore Sturko tried to remove him, a claim Sturko deniesMore details are coming to light about why B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad kicked high-profile MLA Elenore Sturko out of the party’s caucus, just hours after the results of his leadership review came out. As Katie DeRosa reports, Sturko insists the discontent within the opposition caucus runs deep.”In B.C. politics, it’s going to be impossible to unite the right,” said Telford. He said right of centre parties like the B.C. Liberals would agree on economic policy as a counterpoint to the NDP and “they put their social differences aside.””But now you’ve got a new crop of Conservatives who want to go to battle on these sorts of social issues on which the right is divided.” Brodie, the MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena, said “it’s not right” that Shepherd was punished for her views. Brodie herself was kicked out of the B.C. Conservatives after Rustad accused her of mocking residential school survivors during a podcast interview. Brodie is now promoting a documentary called Making a Killing, which questions the number of child burials at residential schools, pointing to a lack of physical evidence. WATCH I New right-of-centre party, One B.C., already facing opposition: New right-of-centre party, One B.C., already facing oppositionProvincial politicians are returning to Victoria on Monday for the fall sitting of the B.C. legislature, and two former Conservative MLAs will be sitting under the banner of a new party, One B.C. But as Katie DeRosa reports, the fledgling party received a cool reception after trying to host a town hall in the Okanagan. That’s led to allegations of residential school denial from prominent First Nations leaders. In 2021, the federally appointed Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation said it had documented the deaths of more than 4,100 children while attending these schools, most due to malnourishment or disease. The B.C. Assembly of First Nations has called on the federal government to create legislation that would criminalize such speech, however Farnworth says the government has no plans to do so.ABOUT THE AUTHORKatie DeRosa is the provincial affairs reporter for CBC British Columbia. She is based in Victoria. You can contact her at katie.derosa@cbc.ca.
Fall legislative session kicks off with 4 political parties, backdrop of labour unrest
