When BC Conservative Leader John Rustad convinced Elenore Sturko to defect from the BC United party last year, he insisted she was joining a “big tent” party where an outspoken member of the LGBTQ community could be a leader on his team.

It was a major score for Rustad. Sturko injected legitimacy and momentum into what was then a ragtag group of disgruntled third-string players largely viewed as low-key homophobes.

The fragile working relationship benefited both Sturko and Rustad. But it only lasted 15 months. On Monday, Rustad, fresh from surviving a 70 per cent approval rating in a leadership review by party members, called Sturko into a meeting, accused her of plotting against him, and ejected her from caucus.

“I’m pretty shaken up by it,” a tearful Sturko said as she emerged from the Conservative caucus room with her belongings in a cardboard box. “It’s still very upsetting.”

Sturko was one of several MLAs who expressed concern at how 2,100 fraudulent memberships were somehow signed up during the leadership race. That list included two dead people. An internal report by the party’s financial agent concluded that known Rustad supporters had tried to prop up his leadership numbers in an amateurish plot that blew up in their faces.

Numerous MLAs were........

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