JÄGER: Out of nowhere, a new and effective opposition

When John Rustad first explored the idea of becoming BC Conservative leader, the party sat at 2% in the polls and hadn't won a seat in the legislature since the 1970s. Just one and half years after accepting the position — with some convincing from his wife, Kim — he and his crew of newcomers went into the provincial election neck and neck with the reigning BC NDP.On Election Night, results started flowing in, and it immediately became clear that the political winds in BC had changed. No longer was it a battle between the centre and centre-left; the centre-right had entered the arena and was proving itself capable of putting up a fight. Riding by riding, Conservative candidates surged past their incumbent competitors, each win further proof that British Columbians were hungry, no, starving for change. All across the province, career politicians with establishment backing were ousted by first-time candidates and their grassroots campaigns. In Abbotsford-Mission, for example, political novice Reann Gasper defeated now-former NDP agriculture minister Pam Alexis by nearly 3,000 votes. Following a debate between the two, Alexis was asked whether she was concerned about Gasper's growing support, and told the Western Standard that the only poll that mattered was the one conducted on election day. She was right. Gasper's David versus Goliath-esque victory is symbolic of the Conservatives' performance as a whole. From the get-go, the party was dismissed, shunned, and attacked by its bigger rivals and through it all, with Rustad at the helm, the SS Common Sense weathered the storm and rode the blue wave to the shores of success. Rustad and his team gave a voice to those who were tired of the NDP and had lost faith in the alternative's ability to push back against increasingly radical policies. The party acted as a mouthpiece not for elites, but for ordinary people, those who just wanted to live their lives in peace and security in a province they could be proud to call home. When the people called for an end to decriminalization, the Conservatives vowed to do just that; when the people called for the abolition of the carbon tax, the Conservatives vowed to do just that. The list goes on. From promising to bring back plastic straws to siding against sexually explicit materials in schools, the Conservatives' policies were a product of listening to what the people want.The NDP, meanwhile, have been accused of governing based on ideology, sticking with unpopular policies lest they stray from the doctrine to which they promised a vocal minority they would adhere. It was only in the past few months, weeks even, that the party appeared to clue in and realize that what they were offering was not what people wanted.All of a sudden, public pressure got to Eby and his team, and they flip-flopped on policies that had long been central to their platform. The carbon tax went from a necessity to a negotiable, decriminalization was scaled back, and involuntary care was promoted as a viable solution for those with severe mental illness and addiction. The Conservatives, having listened to the people, were already two steps ahead by the time the NDP got the memo. Even if the Conservatives don't end up forming government, they will have achieved their goal of preventing another four years of NDP rule, and during his Election Night address, Rustad vowed to ensure that even if Eby remains premier, his days of running roughshod over British Columbia are over. Regardless of who comes out on top, there's no doubt the Conservatives have ushered in a new era of politics in BC that, in the end, will put the people first.

JÄGER: Out of nowhere, a new and effective opposition

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