The News Rundown

No chains': Elenore Sturko speaks out after ousting from B.C. Conservative caucus

While there's certainly lots to talk about in BC, with government announcements, ongoing strikes, and news of a worsening economy, this week the topic is squarely on whatever is going on with the BC Conservatives. Organizations as diverse as the Western Standard, The Tyee, the CBC and Times Colonist are all reporting on the BC Conservative 'soap opera' as columnist Les Leyne refers to it as.
It all started with us learning the results of the BC Conservative leadership review. BC Conservative Leader John Rustad met with reporters at 3:30 p.m., claiming to be “pleased” by “a strong mandate,” though the 71 per cent margin was, by letter grade standards, a B minus, especially since they put the turnout at a miserable 17 per cent of the membership, just to leave people wondering.
An hour or so afterward he summoned Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko into his Legislature office, where she learned she was getting kicked out of the caucus.
The most effective member of the Opposition, and the one who most worried the New Democrats, was out of the caucus. The immediate impact generated a wave of sympathy for Sturko, who told reporters, somewhat tearfully, that she felt “blindsided.”
There were images on social media of her removing her belongings from her legislature office in a cardboard box. Adam Olsen, the former house leader for the Greens, helped carry her stuff out to the car. One of those pictures is our picture of the week.
Comox-Courtenay Conservative MLA Brennan Day said bluntly: “Definitely a short-sighted move. Not a good decision for the longevity of the party.”
It's clear that despite John Rustad's meteoric rise from political underdog to a hair away from winning government, his leadership has not fostered the big tent anti-NDP style of party that BC used to have under the BC Liberals.
Just over a year ago, the BC Conservatives were a political afterthought, hovering near statistical irrelevance. Today, they’re the Official Opposition. That’s no small feat, and John Rustad played a significant role in getting them there. But leading a movement is very different from holding it together.
When Rustad emerged to talk to reporters after a 2½ hour session with caucus, he played it cool. Yes, he’d made the decision to oust Sturko. But he praised her as a hardworking, effective critic of the government, and “I wish her well.” It raised the obvious question of why he dumped such an effective member of his team. Rustad referred only to issues between them “that were not reconcilable.”
The next morning we got competing answers from both sides. Sturko’s appearance on Simi Sara’s show on CKNW at 7:30 am told of her understanding of why he’d forced her out. She’d been challenging him over a tainted leadership vote. She’d half denied the charge the day before, telling reporters: “One of the accusations he made to me this afternoon was that I was organizing people against him. I wasn’t.”
"I'm going to say, in my opinion, the reason why I'm fired is that John Rustad's on shaky ground inside his caucus, and that he needs the support right now [from] social conservatives within the caucus in order for him to hang on to the reins of power. Getting rid of me, it was one way to appease some of the people within the group."
Rustad seized on Sturko’s admission to say more about the irreconcilable differences that led him to fire her.
“I wasn’t going to mention this,” he told Mike Smyth on his CKNW show shortly after 9 a.m. But now that Sturko herself had confirmed it, he said he fired her for plotting against him. “I believe in forgiveness,” said Rustad. But it was the third time this year he’d caught her doing that. “No leader in the country would have tolerated it.”
"You cannot be advancing the ball down the field and scoring a touchdown when you have somebody that is continually causing grief and problems within your ranks, questioning everything that's going on. I don't mind questioning, but when it goes to the point of being traitorous, you can't have that on your team."
Independent members don’t have the resources of an Opposition caucus. Nor do they get much time in question period, where Sturko did some of her best work of holding the NDP to account.
While he maintains that there is unity within the party, Rustad himself admits there's been some backlash within the party since Sturko's ousting. Rustad also admitted to worrying (“of course”) about where Sturko will end up next. He may be recalling how when the openly gay, mother of three, RCMP officer was recruited to the B.C. Liberal party three years ago, some New Democrats publicly wondered “why isn’t she running for us?”
Sturko, for her part, accused Rustad of “doubling down on social conservatism” and making his party “not a comfortable place for socially liberal people.”
During her CBC Radio interview on Tuesday morning, Sturko said she was prevented from voicing her more "socially liberal beliefs" while in the Conservative caucus.
The ousting could undermine support with moderates. Previous leaders of the centre right — Bill Bennett, Gordon Campbell, Christy Clark — managed to relegate social conservatism to the background behind economic conservatism. The one leader who indulged social conservatism, Bill Vander Zalm, pretty much led his party to destruction.
One of the most socially conservative members of caucus, Dr. Anna Kindy, publicly rebuked Rustad, accused him of “cancel culture” in respect to Sturko’s ousting and demanding that diverse views be respected, which I am sure also speaks to the previous ousting of MLA Dallas Brodie.
When your own ideological allies are calling you out for stifling dissent, that’s not just a bad look. That’s a leadership crisis, and one that cuts directly against everything Rustad has claimed to stand for. This is a man who once pushed back against the then BC Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell in a bold and ill-fated caucus revolt and, thanks to a leader who understood what leadership takes (ego aside), was graciously accepted back into that caucus. Years later, he was ejected from the BC United Party (then BC Liberal) by current leader Kevin Falcon for refusing to toe the party line. Rustad built his political identity on challenging authority and defending independent thought. Now, under his leadership, the BC Conservatives are punishing exactly that. And it’s not an isolated case.
The Tyee has obtained the party’s internal report on the problems, which has been leaked to multiple media outlets. Two B.C. Conservative MLAs have confirmed the document is the same one shared with caucus members this month.
Completed by former Conservative board member Sacha Peter, the report says that 2,238 party memberships were “manufactured” in July and August during the vote that would determine whether Rustad continued as party leader.
The report says the majority of the alleged manufactured signups were created on the same day, Aug. 29.
The report says 96 per cent of the 2,238 memberships were purchased using the same credit card and states that represents a “violation” of the part of the Elections Act that governs political contributions.
Elections BC does not play a role in setting party membership rules or leadership races or reviews. But membership fees for a party are political contributions and subject to the Election Act, Elections BC told The Tyee via email.
“The Conservative Party has been in contact with our office about political contribution rules in relation to party membership fees, and we have provided guidance to the party on the relevant rules under the Election Act,” Melanie Hull, a communications staffer with Elections BC, told The Tyee.
The report also includes eight names associated with the credit cards that were allegedly used to purchase the memberships, but warns that because only the last four digits of the cards were retained by the party’s credit card processor, there is a “1:10,000” chance that another credit card was used. The names the report says are associated with credit cards used to purchase the memberships include people who have been closely associated with the party and, in some cases, with Rustad.
This story is clearly not done yet, and we'll have to see where it goes from here. Regardless, the NDP and Premier David Eby will probably breathe a sigh of relief at the opposition getting a little less united.
Supplementals:

Natural gas is one of Western Canada’s biggest exports. It’s also what Alberta primarily uses to generate electricity. It’s an important commodity.
This week you’d be remiss if you missed the story showing natural gas prices falling below 0.
The daily price for natural gas exported from Alberta this week settled between -55c and -80c per gigajoule.
This was brought on by a historic glut of supply and slower than expected ramp ups of new processing and shipping options.
In response to this, large gas producing firms such as ARC Resources Ltd., Tourmaline Oil Corp., Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Advantage Energy Ltd. and Vermilion Energy Inc have cut back or shut down production.
Producers even paid others to accept their gas. One company, Pine Cliff, was paid to accept the gas of other companies.
The problem is a perfect storm. Western Canada is swimming in natural gas, exports have struggled against seasonal pipeline maintenance, and a slower than expected ramp up of the new LNG Canada facility.
The solution to this problem is to have LNG Canada reach full capacity by the second half of this year.
This story is a warning sign to everyone. There will always be a market in Asia and even Europe for natural gas. We need to do everything we can to get our product to those markets.
The second phase of project announcements from the Major Project Office will come in November. There should be hope that there will be something on that list pertaining to LNG export.
This problem ultimately signifies that natural gas mining and logistics in Canada is going well, we just don’t have the capacity to get it out. This is something the federal government can help with.
The other big thing this story shows is just how cheap natural gas normally is.
While negative prices are not the norm they typically hover between $3-$4/GJ.
Yet at the end of the day when it comes to heating prices those are not as cheap as they once were.
Heating bills are dominated by administration fees, delivery fees, and previously the carbon tax. All of these added up to be an order of magnitude more than the price of the gas itself.
With natural gas being so cheap, one must wonder if there’s anything that the respective provincial and federal governments can do to ensure that consumers are seeing the benefits of low gas prices as we head into winter.
This story represents a double whammy of Canada needing to both be and act like an energy super power.
Any other country with such reserves would not let their gas prices dip to below zero and a supply to back up.
Being an energy super power does not mean that we need to join OPEC. But we should take the best of what OPEC has to offer and do that for ourselves.
That means ensuring that whenever we approach a negotiation or policy discussion with another country we view it from an energy first perspective.
Alberta does this through its energy ministry as do the other resource producing provinces. But at this point it’s unclear if the Carney administration is going to do the same federally.
The verdict on that question is likely no as we have not heard any federal officials speak up about this period of negative costs.
Supplementals:

https://globalnews.ca/news/11452634/canada-natural-gas-negative-prices/

Gun buyback pilot to launch in Cape Breton, with plans to expand nationwide

This week, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced a limited initial launch of the federal government’s buyback program for owners of banned assault-style weapons, one day after he was forced to explain private comments in which he said Ottawa’s gun policies were chosen for political reasons and likely can’t be properly enforced.
The federal government has banned more than 2,500 models and variants of assault-style weapons since May, 2020. It is promising to buy back any of the banned weapons in a program that is opposed by the Conservative Party and many gun organizations across the country.
A pilot for individual gun owners will begin in Cape Breton, N.S. People will be notified starting today and as of Oct. 1, they can file a declaration using the online portal.
If that declaration is accepted, they can then make an appointment with the Cape Breton Regional Police Service.
Call centre support will be available, including filing on the phone for people who do not have access to the online portal. The pilot is expected to run for about six weeks and 'collect an initial 200 assault-style weapons', according to the government.
The announcement took place one day after the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, a lobby group, published leaked audio of Anandasangaree speaking about the program, including that the government was moving forward with the buyback program to win votes in Quebec and likely can’t be properly enforced. Anandasangaree said he did not know he was being recorded and has called his comments “misguided.”
In the recording, Anandasangaree also offers to pay the acquaintance the difference between the federal government’s compensation and what he paid for his now-banned firearms, and says Carney is sticking with the policy to appease voters in Quebec.
Anandasangaree pushed back against calls for him to resign or be fired following leaked audio in which he can be heard questioning the federal gun buyback program he oversees, But Prime Minister Mark Carney says he has “confidence” in his minister.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in Question Period on Tuesday: “He admits he doesn’t know what a gun licence is. More than half of Canadians don’t feel safe under his watch. Will the Prime Minister do the only thing that will secure our country and fire this incompetent Minister?”
The Canadian government is also no longer planning to donate any weapons from the gun buyback program to Ukraine, saying the plan “was not a practical or effective way” to support the country’s defence against Russia.
The Trudeau government had pledged to work with the Ukrainian military to identify which banned guns could support the country’s war effort, but Anandasangaree’s office said the Carney government has cancelled those plans, after the Ukrainians showed interest in an “extremely limited” number of firearms.
“This approach was well-intentioned and made in response to urgent circumstances, but it became clear that a vast majority of these firearms did not meet NATO compliance standards. That is why Canada’s new government cancelled this program because it was not a practical or effective way to support Ukraine’s defence,” the minister’s office said. Canada has committed nearly $22 billion in assistance to Ukraine, including over $6.5 billion in military aid since the beginning of the war with Russia in 2022.
The plan was announced in December when the Trudeau Liberal government increased its banned weapons list to more than 2,500 types of firearms and started the first phase of its long-delayed buyback. Former defence minister Bill Blair said at the time the government was working with the Ukrainians to “ensure that weapons that were intended to be used in combat could be made available to them” and that the country’s military had confirmed its interest in some firearms.
Critics, however, said it was a ploy to increase support for the contentious program. The only mention of the plan since Prime Minister Mark Carney became Liberal leader was in June, when CBC News reported that no firearms had been donated at the time after more than 12,000 guns had been purchased from businesses.
In justifying the buyback program, the Liberal government has branded the banned weapons as “assault-style” and at times, “weapons of war,” that should not belong in communities and need to be outlawed to prevent mass shootings.
Tracey Wilson, a gun lobbyist at the Canadian Coalition for Firearm rights, said none of the banned weapons are automatic so they would not be suitable for military combat.
“It debunks the idea that they’re weapons of war,” Wilson said. “Otherwise Ukraine would want them all.”
The gun buyback has been a boondoggle from the very beginning, and one would think that Carney had a golden opportunity to distance himself even further from former PM Trudeau's terrible policies by cancelling it. But to appease Quebec, the program stays, at an eyewatering cost and no effectiveness.
Supplementals:

Firing Line

Canada, Britain and Australia recognize state of Palestine

Last Sunday after we published our podcast Canada recognized a palestinian state alongside the UK and Australia.
Portugal and France also issued similar declarations on Monday.
First, what is state recognition? It’s how countries are formed. As more and more existing countries recognize the independence of a country the more that country’s legitimacy increases.
When Ukraine broke away from the Soviet Union, Canada was the first country to recognize its independence. Later on other countries like the US followed, increasing an independent Ukraine’s legitimacy.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s statement on the matter said, “Since 1947, it has been the policy of every Canadian government to support a two-state solution for lasting peace in the Middle East. This envisioned the creation of a sovereign, democratic, and viable state of Palestine building its future in peace and security alongside the State of Israel.”
The statement admits that the recognition of and the state of Palestine isn’t a solution to all the problems in the region, it’s not a panacea.
Both Carney and UK Prime Minister Starmer said that the call for a “genuine two-state solution” is the exact opposite of what Hamas perpetrated in the October 7th attacks and does not reward them.
Canada’s position on a state of Palestine is that for it to work, Hamas needs to release all hostages, fully disarm, and play no role in the governance of a palestinian state.
Earlier this summer Canada, the UK, France, Australia, and others said that all this would need to happen for our countries to recognize a palestinian state. Yet here we are, the Prime Minister spoke at the UN recognizing a palestinian state.
It’s at this point we need to ask what exactly is the palestinian state supposed to look like?
Following the end of World War 1 in 1918 the remains of the Ottoman Empire were distributed under something known as the Sykes-Picot agreement. This created French and British zones of control.
Syria and Lebanon were part of the French Mandate.
The British Mandate included Palestine, Transjordan, and Iraq.
Palestine existed in this form until 1948 when Israel was formed.
In 1947 the UN General Assembly (the same body pushing for Palestine today), adopted the UN Partition plan creating Israel out of the British Mandate.
That partition plan called for a Jewish state, an Arab state, and Jerusalem designated as an international zone.
When David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the state of Israel in May 1948 all of Israel’s neighbours attacked.
Egypt took what is now Gaza until 1967 and Jordan took what is now the West Bank. After this Israel took Gaza, the West Bank, and Sinai peninsula.
The 1995 Camp David Accords restored portions of control to the Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza.
What the media conveniently leaves out of the modern discussions on the matter is the history as well as what happened once Israel was proclaimed as a country.
The UN agreed on a two state solution in 1947 but the neighbours, Jordan and Egypt attacked.
Israel survived and in almost every major conflict grew its territory.
The media has portrayed Israel as a great aggressor but Israel has every right to be suspicious of any push for a two state solution.
The first two state solution saw Israel invaded with the goal of being overrun.
After October 7th 2023 the prospects of a two state solution dropped precipitously. Governments globally initially supported Israel after the 2023 attacks but that support has waned given the long drawn out process of war.
Countries like Canada and the UK are stepping up because the world perceives a lack of American leadership globally.
The recognition and announcement of plans to recognize a Palestinian state are said to have possibly de-railed talks for hostage release.
This entire situation represents a wishy-washy foreign policy reminiscent of the Trudeau era that earned us no friends thanks to what is likely a result of anti-Trump virtue signalling.
The biggest problem though for Canada is making the recognition before the pre-conditions were met.
The government of Canada was aided in this endeavour by the media who has a surface level at best understanding of the historical situation of two state solutions in Israel.
Supplementals:

Quote of the Week

"I'm going to say, in my opinion, the reason why I'm fired is that John Rustad's on shaky ground inside his caucus, and that he needs the support right now [from] social conservatives within the caucus in order for him to hang on to the reins of power. Getting rid of me, it was one way to appease some of the people within the group." - Former BC Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko on her ousting by leader John Rustad

Word of the Week

panacea - a solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases.

How to Find Us

Westerncontext.ca

westerncontext.ca/subscribe

westerncontext.ca/support

twitter.com/westerncontext

facebook.com/westerncontext

Show Data

Episode Title: No Quick Fixes
Teaser: Elenore Sturko is booted from the BC Conservatives, natural gas prices dip into the negative, and the gun buyback program starts in Cape Breton. Also, Carney overrides his own conditions to recognize the state of Palestine.
Production Code: WC-437-2025-09-27
Recorded Date: September 27, 2025
Release Date: September 28, 2025
Duration: 1:06:33
Edit Notes: None

Podcast Summary Notes

Duration: XX:XX