ELENORE Sturko, MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale who was the BC Conservative critic for public safety and solicitor general, has been kicked out of her party for what she claimed on Monday were false allegations that she was organizing against the party leader, John Rustad.
But she told the media that she had planned to raise the issue of allegations that people close to Rustad had signed up 2,100 fraudulent memberships in Kelowna at the caucus meeting.
However, on Tuesday morning, Sturko, appearing on Simi Sara’s show on CKNW, confessed: “I did go to other MLAs for support to ask him to resign.”
Rustad then told Mike Smyth on his CKNW show that he fired Sturko for plotting against him, the Vancouver Sun reported.
Sturko ditched BC United and joined the B.C. Conservative Party in June 2024, claiming that she was defecting to “rebuild the coalition that’s needed to defeat the NDP.” Sturko, a former RCMP spokesperson and military veteran, was elected in a by-election in Surrey South in 2022. Sturko knew she had no chance of winning from that riding as a BC United candidate and so decided to defect. She then ran in Surrey-Cloverdale where the B.C. Conservative candidate Jody Toor was moved to Langley Willowbrook.
At the time, BC United Leader Kevin Falcon told the media Sturko’s defection was a “personal betrayal” and that he was shocked and disappointed.
Rustad said at the time: “Elenore’s decision to join us reinforces that we are building a big tent, with room for everyone who wants to defeat the NDP and elect a common sense government that respects taxpayers hard earned wages.”
Now, Rustad has booted Sturko out.
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