Aaron Gunn Asks Public if He Should Resign as Tory MP to Lead BC Conservatives

MP for North Island-Powell River Aaron Gunn rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Nov. 26, 2025. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Federal Conservative MP Aaron Gunn is seeking public input on what he describes as the “toughest decision” of his life—pursuing the leadership of the B.C. Conservative Party or continuing to serve in federal parliament as an MP.

Gunn announced earlier this month that he was “seriously considering” running for the leadership of the B.C. Conservative Party after John Rustad stepped down from the role on Dec. 4.

Now the North Island-Powell River MP is asking for feedback via a survey posted to social media.

“This is obviously a huge decision, and I want to give you a chance to weigh in,” he said in a Dec. 20 X post that was accompanied by a link to the survey.

The three-question survey asks if he should run for the leadership of the provincial party, if respondents would consider joining the B.C. Conservatives to cast their vote for him, and what they perceive to be the most pressing issue confronting British Columbia.

He said his phone, inbox, and social media have been flooded with comments urging him to make the jump from federal to provincial politics and attributed the feedback to a desire for change after an NDP government being at the helm of the province for eight years.

“They have flooded our streets with drugs, doubled our debt, undermined property rights and left our streets less safe with each passing day. I believe we need change now and that starts with new leadership,” he wrote.

“On the other hand, serving as the elected representative of the people of North Island-Powell River has been the greatest job in the world. There is no greater honour than standing in the federal Parliament and defending the interests of my constituents and all Canadians.”

His post received hundreds of thousands of views and hundreds of comments with some urging him to make the leap while others said his presence in Ottawa was more crucial, saying Prime Minister Mark Carney was on the verge of achieving a majority government.

Two Tory MPs have crossed the floor in recent weeks to join the Liberal caucus. Chris d'Entremont crossed the floor last month to the Liberals and Michael Ma followed suit on Dec. 11. The switch raises the Liberals’ seat count to 171, just one short of a majority government.

The Conservatives are also poised to lose Edmonton Riverbend Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux, who has announced that he plans to resign from Parliament this spring to spend more time with family. A byelection will be triggered once he officially steps down from his post.

A similar byelection would be called if Gunn decided to resign to seek the provincial leadership position.

Gunn secured victory in the North Island-Powell River riding in the spring election, capturing 38.8 percent of the vote, outpacing his NDP and Liberal opponents who garnered 32.6 percent and 26 percent respectively.

Provincial Politics

Gunn has a history with the provincial party. He was pivotal in supporting the B.C. Conservatives’ reconstruction efforts before the party was recognized as the official Opposition last year.

The B.C. Conservative Party’s revival started after executives of the province’s main centre-right B.C. Liberal Party blocked Gunn’s bid for leadership of their party in the fall of 2021.

Gunn was criticized by the NDP for saying there was “no genocide” in Canada’s residential school system and the Liberals determined that his posts contained content that went against the party’s values.

Gunn helped to rebrand the provincial Conservative Party and founded the advocacy organization Common Sense B.C., while several members of the group were elected to the board of the B.C. Conservative Party.

The party got a boost when then-independent MLA John Rustad crossed the floor to join the Conservatives in February 2023. Rustad was kicked out of the B.C. Liberal ​​caucus in 2022 after he shared a post on social media by Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore challenging the idea that carbon dioxide is the “control knob of global temperature” regarding climate change.

Rustad won party leadership in March of 2023 and Gunn was nominated as a candidate by the Conservative Party of Canada in December of that year.

Rustad stepped down from the role on Dec. 4 after 20 MLAs publicly said they had lost confidence in his leadership and wanted him to resign.

Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford has been acting as the interim leader of the party since that time and has said he does not plan to pursue the party’s top spot.

It’s not currently known how many candidates Gunn would have to face if he decides to run for the leadership role.

The former army reservist and documentary filmmaker said in his post that he will announce his decision before Christmas. He said he will continue to represent B.C.’s interests “no matter what I decide, and on which stage I set foot.”