British ColumbiaB.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad confirmed Thursday that the cellphones of Conservative members were searched so the caucus could find out who is leaking internal information to the media.Opposition Leader said search didn’t reveal anything that concerned himKatie DeRosa · CBC News · Posted: Oct 09, 2025 7:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoB.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad defends his decision to have his MLAs’ phones searched on Oct. 9, 2025. (CBC News)B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad confirmed Thursday that the cellphones of Conservative members were searched so the caucus could find out who is leaking internal information to the media.That admission was made by Rustad, leader of the Official Opposition – eventually. He was initially asked by reporters if caucus whips are searching MLAs’ phones. “No, they’re not … on a regular basis,” he said.When pressed, Rustad admitted phones were searched during a caucus meeting Monday night after information from that meeting was posted on social media. “There was a discussion at caucus because of some leaked information and everybody in caucus expressed some concern about that,” he said. “And we said, let’s deal with this today and now. And there was a discussion at that point to look to see if anyone has been putting information out in the middle of our caucus meeting.”During that same caucus meeting, MLAs were blocked from casting a secret ballot on Rustad’s leadership. Rustad initially said all MLAs expressed a willingness to hand over their phones.When pressed, he later said not all MLAs agreed, but the vast majority. “There was a decision to have a couple of people go through and look at the phones and review it,” he said.WATCH | 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 was asked by a reporter if he’s paranoid. He laughed and said no. He also denied that the move was unusual. “What we have said in caucus is very clear, that we expect discipline, we expect people to be part of our team, move forward,” he said. “And if anybody’s working against that, then we have a series of disciplinary actions that we will be taking.”After the search, Rustad said there was nothing that concerned him. Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko, who was kicked out of the B.C. Conservative caucus last month, says it’s Rustad’s behaviour that’s a concern. “Frankly it’s shocking to see that it would have degraded to that, when a leader has that little confidence in his caucus members,” Sturko said. “And I think more and more we’re hearing his caucus members have less faith in him.”Sturko was removed from caucus the day Rustad survived a review into his leadership.Sturko said Rustad accused her of leaking information and undermining his leadership. She said his latest actions show the issue is still plaguing his caucus, amid ongoing reports of internal infighting. Attorney General Niki Sharma said she finds the actions “problematic.” “I have never heard of a leader doing that to their colleagues in a caucus. And I would be surprised that that would be an action that’s taken in terms of the privacy and the protection of the caucus members,” she said. WATCH | B.C. Conservative leader faces internal party strife:B.C. Conservative leader battles internal party strife as legislature returnsThe B.C. government begins the fall session this week with a jam-packed agenda of bills from the NDP. Opposition leader John Rustad joined Stephen Quinn to speak about his priorities, the state of internal strife in the B.C. Conservative Party and his support for a new pipeline from Alberta.Rustad this week also broke his pledge that he would not whip his MLAs into voting as a block.On Monday, the NDP put forward a motion that condemns what they called the “homophobic, transphobic, and anti-choice views” of a Christian lobby group called the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA).Heather Maahs, the B.C. Conservative MLA for Chilliwack North, hosted the group at an event in the legislature’s Hall of Honour in May. The event was attended by several Conservative MLAs, which Sturko condemned, saying the organization has written on its website that homosexuality is immoral.Rustad dismissed the motion as a political stunt meant to divide his caucus and told his MLAs to protest by skipping the vote. They all did.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.
In John Rustad’s hunt for a leak, B.C. Conservative MLAs have their phones searched
