John Rustad

“We talk about UNDRIP as a document advancing reconciliation and human rights, and I think those are important values.”

Said during second-reading debate on Bill 41 (the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act). The bill passed unanimously on November 26, 2019, with Rustad's vote. Rustad himself confirmed this vote on the record in the Legislative Assembly on November 20, 2025, when independent MLA Tara Armstrong stated: "The Premier and the Leader of the Official Opposition voted UNDRIP into law in this province in 2019."

“We must also repeal the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was established for conditions in other countries — not Canada.”

Published on the BC Conservative Party website as leader. Rustad later confirmed in his own words that he had voted for DRIPA in 2019: "Yes I voted for DRIPA in 2019. I've never hidden from that, and I won't pretend otherwise now."

“The Conservative Party of British Columbia will axe the carbon tax; we will stand with hardworking everyday British Columbian families, and we will never back down or backtrack.”

Published as an official BC Conservative Party statement during the 2024 election campaign. Rustad had previously served as a BC Liberal MLA when the same government introduced North America's first carbon tax in July 2008. A specific pre-2024 verbatim quote from Rustad in support of the carbon tax has not yet been verified for publication on this site; the pairing is under review.

“SOGI in itself has become too divisive. It's become very problematic. Many parents want to see it go. So we need to remove that and make sure parents have their rights and engage with their kids in schools.”

Said at the kickoff of the 2024 BC election campaign. SOGI 123 was introduced in BC schools in 2016 by the BC Liberal government; Rustad was a cabinet minister in that government. A specific 2016 Rustad statement in support of SOGI has not yet been verified for publication on this site; the pairing is under review.