It’s some chaos in the BC Conservative Party after the majority of the caucus let the party’s board of directors that they have no confidence in John Rustad’s leadership (though this may not have been an actual caucus vote—it may have been something like a letter signed with enough signatures). The board said that a caucus vote confirmed Trevor Halford as interim leader, and they declared Rustad “professionally incapacitated,” given that incapacitation is one of the only ways to replace a leader per the party’s constitution. And then John Rustad said he’s not going anywhere.

This is, of course, insane. No leader can survive a vote of non-confidence from the majority of his or her caucus. The confidence convention is one of the most fundamental aspects of our parliamentary order as part of the conventions that govern our unwritten constitution. And if Rustad continues to insist that he’s the leader and refuse to leave with any shred of his dignity left intact (but good luck with that at this point, because yikes), the next step is likely for the majority of his caucus to simply remove themselves and form official opposition as a splinter party (though the legislature ended the fall sitting yesterday, so that may not actually happen). There is some precedent for this—when the then-Alliance Party got fed up with Stockwell Day’s leadership, a number of its MPs broke away and sat as a separate caucus until Day stepped down, and the when the Bloc were reduced to a rump caucus in the Commons and had a leader without a seat who also became a problem, most of them removed themselves from caucus until she stepped down.

This whole sorry exercise should be a reminder that the current system of membership election and removal of leaders is antithetical to our system, and creates problems with leaders who refuse to take a hint. That’s why a confidence vote is the ultimate tool, and if he refuses to abide by it, like a mad king, he just isolates himself ever further into irrelevance. In any case, Rustad is finished, even if he is going to throw a tantrum about it for the next day or two.

— Effin' Birds (@effinbirds.com) 2025-12-03T14:25:05.918Z

Ukraine Dispatch

Ukraine hit the Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia with remote-controlled explosives, which supplies Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.

Good reads:

• Mark Carney met with tennis champion Victoria Mboko, as well as prairie First Nations chiefs outside of the AFN meeting.
• Evan Solomon says that upcoming digital asbestos legislation won’t deal with copyright issues, confirming his uselessness as a minister of the Crown.
• The government has sent early retirement information to some 70,000 civil servants as part of plans to *ahem* “right-size” the civil service.
• Chrystia Freeland says that investing in Ukraine is a good opportunity, as the government pledged another $235 million through NATO.
• The EU says that the entry fee for Canada to participate in the Security Action for Europe rearmament program is 10 million Euros, or $16 million Canadian.
• NSIRA says that they may not be able to do necessary oversight work because of expected budget cuts, and a lack of legislated protections from lawsuits.
• The Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association has filed for a judicial review of the government’s rejection of the recommendation to increase judges’ salaries.
• The Star has a good explainer on the industrial carbon price, and why Alberta’s system has a bunch of loopholes that reduce its effectiveness.
• Civil society and labour groups called on the government to withdraw its hate crime bill, saying that it has the possibility of criminalising protest.
• Tim Hortons lobbied MPs for more access to temporary foreign workers over the past eighteen months, citing “unprecedented” labour shortages.
• First Nations chiefs in Ontario are denouncing the decision to delay clean water legislation until the spring, worried that the government will water it down.
• Backbench Liberal MPs say the government will have to answer questions on why they reversed course and offered new fossil fuel subsidies in the MOU with Alberta.
• Michelle Rempel Garner says it’s time to end “virtual” citizenship ceremonies. (I don’t disagree with this one, actually).
• Bob Rae says that it will be impossible to repair some of the damage to the Canada-US relationship, particularly because we have lost our naïveté.
• A recall petition has now been launched for Danielle Smith. (Oh, the irony…)
• Two Alberta Cabinet ministers have now confirmed that they invoked the Notwithstanding Clause to simply avoid paying teachers higher salaries.
• Chris Selley takes note of Marc Miller upsetting the sacred cows of ethnic nationalists in Quebec by (correctly) calling them out on their nonsense.
• Susan Delacourt sees value in Carney embracing the positions of his political rivals for the sake of toning down toxic divisions. (I have serious reservations).
• Althia Raj questions the wisdom of Carney turning his back on two decades of climate activism by the Liberals given the broader fallout over it.

Odds and ends:

Ruling from the bench at the #SCC today. Summary: www.scc-csc.ca/judgments-ju…

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T21:38:58.549Z

Hey BSers! Need a copy of my book, for yourself or for a holiday gift? @dundurnpress.bsky.social is having their holiday sale! Use code HOLIDAY25 to save 25% on this, or any Dundurn book. Check out my book #UnbrokenMachine, or the book I contributed a chapter to, #RoyalProgress.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T02:01:04.435Z

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