The B.C. Conservative Party under John Rustad continues to unravel, losing yet another MLA today. Penticton-Summerland's Amelia Boultbee resigned from caucus today, while publicly calling for party leader John Rustad’s resignation during her announcement in front of the B.C. Legislature this morning. 

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BREAKING: MLA Amelia Boultbee, has left the B.C. Conservative caucus and claims Rustad has unraveled.

More to come. https://t.co/0tbdTEy4lF

— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) October 20, 2025

“It is with regret that I am announcing that I am leaving the BC Conservative caucus effective immediately and I will be sitting as an independent MLA,” Boultbee declared during a press conference.

“I have witnessed the unravelling of John Rustad,” she said, before declaring his leadership a failure.

In response, Rustad dismissed her criticisms and deflected by raising questions about Boultbee’s mental health.

“I am very concerned about her wellbeing,” he told reporters, while also stating, “She was leaking everything to everyone, and obviously those leaks can't carry on.”

He further claimed Boultbee didn’t align with party positions on education, and even suggested she sympathized with Hamas.

Boultbee becomes the fifth MLA (along with one staffer) to exit the party this year, shrinking what was once a 44-member strong opposition, on the heels of the NDP’s 47 seats, down to just 39 members. This is a remarkable collapse for a party that nearly won last year’s general election.

With Rustad’s Conservatives, “Truth and Reconciliation” means:
⁰Let the lie live, or be fired.

I spoke with Lindsay Shepherd (@NewWorldHominin) after she was fired from the BCCP for speaking truth about “mass graves” propaganda.

Interview to come at: https://t.co/RpznYVqS8w pic.twitter.com/V1zHT5qA31

— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) October 8, 2025

Boultbee’s exit deepens the fracture in what’s become an increasingly divided party, between B.C. Conservative MLAs representing traditional, conservative values and others like Boultbee, who many say never belonged in a party calling itself “conservative” to begin with.

…

I bet Boultbee would fit in well with the NDP. pic.twitter.com/lYVhG9rXks

— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) October 20, 2025

In May, Boultbee spoke out against many of her own colleagues to condemn their inclusion of a Christian advocacy group in the legislature.

She publicly distanced herself from an event featuring the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA), who had been invited to speak by her now-former B.C. Conservative colleague Heather Maahs.

Among other social-conservative causes, ARPA advocates for protecting minors from irreversible medical procedures associated with gender transition.

Boultbee took to X to denounce the group, writing: “I wouldn’t willingly be caught dead with them in public and I believe it’s an error they were allowed in the Hall of Honour at the legislature.”

Independent MLA Elenore Sturko, who was recently removed from the BC Conservative caucus and is a former RCMP officer known for supporting LGBTQ rights, also criticized the event.

This isn’t the only example of Boultbee publicly opposing politicians for speaking to concerns shared by many Conservative voters in B.C.

Earlier this month, she called out those affiliated with a OneBC Party event, party leader MLA Dallas Brodie, and party house leader MLA Tara Armstrong who, like Boultbee were originally elected as B.C. Conservatives.

Boultbee accused One B.C. of promoting “harmful views” and “residential school denialism” due to their continued efforts to expose the truth about the false claims of clandestine unmarked graves being discovered at former residential schools.

Now-former B.C. Conservative MLA Amelia Boultee defends false unmarked grave discovery claims and reconciliation overreach, just like John Rustad and the NDP.

Below she accuses the One B.C. Party of “residential school denialism” for shedding light on this important issue. pic.twitter.com/Z5BJZeVDi4

— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) October 20, 2025

In March, Brodie was expelled from the B.C. Conservatives for factually stating that, contrary to widespread residential school misinformation, not a single body has been discovered to date at the former Kamloops residential school site.

Jordan Keely, another MLA no longer serving with the B.C. Conservatives, walked away from the party immediately after Brodie's exit, alongside Armstrong.

They cited in-caucus bullying and a lack of Conservative values as key reasons for the decision to do so.

The abrupt exits from the party are not limited to MLAs. Earlier this month, the party's now former communications officer Lindsay Shepherd, known for free speech advocacy, was fired by Rustad for criticizing Truth and Reconciliation Day propaganda birthed from the false discovery claims.

Despite the party's ongoing division, one sentiment has remained consistent among the MLAs and staffer who are no longer with the party, and that is their belief that John Rustad should resign.