What Does it All Mean: A Closer Look at the Conspiracy Theories Promoted By Candidates in BC Election

From eating bugs to Agenda 2030, an opposition research document shows the BC Conservative Party boosting conspiracy theories and bizarre talking points. We examine what they mean and where they came from.

Peter Smith
Canadian Anti-Hate Network



Source: Element5 Digital/Unsplash


This week signals the final few days before British Columbia’s provincial election. Polling reveals a tight race as candidates spent the Thanksgiving weekend door-knocking and vying for last-minute votes. 

In the lead-up, a massive document of 199 pages of opposition research was posted publicly online by former BC Liberal MLA and current CKNW radio host Jas Johal that alleges a troubling pattern of far-right conspiracy theories promoted by candidates for the BC Conservative Party. 

Ranging from climate denial to exaggerated claims of sinister plans by the United Nations (UN), World Economic Forum (WEF) and other menacing acronyms, multiple statements and social media posts by the candidates relate to conspiracy theories. 

  

Setting the Agenda

  

Climate change denial seems to be one of the most prominent and consistent types of conspiracy theories that are present within the BC Conservatives — a good summary of this sentiment was written by the National Observer.  BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad is no exception in that regard, but he has also made various statements that allude to other conspiracy theories

Rustad has made bizarre statements including telling the Globe and Mail about his province’s healthcare system, “there's only one jurisdiction that even comes close to following what we do and that's North Korea.” 

Footage from a 2023 conference on YouTube shows Rustad repeating a conspiracy theory often heard online that there is a plan to transition people to eating bugs instead of meat.

“A year or two ago now, a new plant was built in Ontario. I think in the Ottawa area. This plant produces 40,000 tonnes of bug protein for human and animal consumption, and there is a second plant now being built. This is what they think is the solution and I can tell you stopping cows from farting and belching is not going to change the weather.” 

He adds that this will “destroy our quality of life” and is somehow linked to a broader plan to limit individuals' freedom of movement.

“We should not be expecting our kids to eat bugs.”

Rustad also appeared on the live stream of Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson, a far-right content creator who has also repeatedly run for political office, where he claimed that the “climate narrative” is part of a larger plot related to population control. 

“This narrative about climate … I can only put it to the fact that somehow they think we need to reduce the world population. It's sort of an anti-human agenda. “ 

When Tyler Thompson specifically mentions Agenda 2030, Rustad nods and responds, “It’s anti-civilization.” 

Notably, what could be called the “eat the bugs” conspiracy is linked to a larger strange interpretation of the United Nations Agenda 21 and Agenda 2030 programs. 

First created in 1992, Agenda 21 was a spanning, non-binding “plan of action” intended to promote sustainability, reduce or limit human impacts on the environment, and combat poverty, all intended to be implemented by 2021. Agenda 2030 is a later, similar program adopted in 2015, intending to achieve 17 core objectives, including eliminating hunger, providing clean drinking water, and reaching gender equality in UN member states. 

Through the lens of conspiracism, passages of the documents have been linked to plots to trap citizens inside cities, force them to give up red meat, and in some cases, release large predatory animals into rural areas. 

A common belief as part of the Agenda 21 and 2030 conspiracy theories is that people will be forced to eat bugs as a replacement for animal proteins since mass livestock production has been shown to produce large amounts of waste and greenhouse gases

The federal government did provide funding to Aspire Food Group facilities that process crickets primarily for pet food. Insect protein is available for human consumption, and its proponents do typically frame the product as a more sustainable alternative to livestock. There remain, however, no policies or legislation that mandate its consumption. 

  

Just Asking Questions 

  

Jas Johal also posted a series of images showing social media posts allegedly from South Surrey candidate Brent Chapman in 2017 which suggest that he was casting doubt on mass shootings that took place at a Quebec City mosque, Sandy Hook elementary school, and Pulse nightclub in Orlando. 

“Look, I hope no one was actually killed at any of these events, but in the Orlando nightclub shooting, the people that talked to the press were not actually shot,” he wrote on a Facebook post, shared by Johal.

Under posts related to the shootings, Chapman reportedly wrote “something is off” and said the shootings “all have sketchy stories that change drastically from initial events.” 

In response to the reporting, Chapman released a statement. 

“Let me be clear, the Quebec Mosque Shooting, Aurora, Orlando, and Sandy Hook were all very real mass shootings — innocent people lost their lives, and we should all mourn these tragedies,” Chapman wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

“What I was trying to say is the whirlwind of US media and commentary makes everything chaotic and confusing to people watching the TV. People’s understanding of what’s going on changes from moment to moment and it’s all just so difficult to understand.”

Chapman also has said he will not be commenting further on the subject and Rustad has refused to rule out appointing him to cabinet if elected. 

Casting shootings and mass casualty events as “false flags”—events either staged or carried out by the government—is a common trope among conspiracy theorists. In one of the most overt examples of this behaviour, InfoWars founder Alex Jones accused the families of Sandy Hook victims of lying, claiming their children were still alive. 

Jones has been ordered to auction off the assets of InfoWars to pay a $1.5 billion settlement with the families. 

PressProgress also reported that Chapman warned of UN conspiracies to take control of Canada during an interview in September 2023. 

    

Running with the Devil

   

Perhaps some of the most unusual statements came from the independent candidate for Prince George-Mackenzie Rachael Weber. Weber was initially meant to be on the ballot for the BC Conservatives but was removed from the party after it was alleged she had used social media to share posts accusing 5G technology of being a weapon and interfering “with the absorption of oxygen in the human body,".  

In the research document, images of social media posts from 2021 claim to show her railing against microchips and cashless payments as being the “Mark of the Beast.”

In the presented text, she allegedly admits to not knowing the time of the rapture—an event in Christian mythology when before the end of the world, the faithful are transported to heaven—she attributes everything from COVID health restrictions to “working long hours” as heralding the coming of the anti-Christ. 

“I wonder what doctor they will have on the news explaining the rapture and the disappearance of so many people?” the post reads. “I won’t be here for it but it’s just a thought.”

The Rapture is supposed to be preceded by the coming of an anti-Christ who will force individuals to wear the “mark of the beast.” 

In conspiratorial circles, this mark has been speculated to be everything from microchips inserted into people to vaccines to barcodes.

 

Screenshot of an image included in the research document, allegedly of a social media post attributed to Rachael Weber. Source: Jas Johal/Scribd

     

In a different post from 2021, Weber is allegedly shown sharing content claiming Bill Gates advocated for population control through vaccinations. 

A year prior, other posts show Weber accusing the furniture company Wayfair of human trafficking.

   

The List Goes On

     

One member of the BC Conservatives was previously featured in articles by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN). Heather Maahs, the candidate for Chilliwack, appears in the research document for interacting with posts alleging election fraud by the Liberal Party of Canada. CAHN wrote about Maahs‘ role in the anti-transgender “ParentsVoice BC” coalition whose members ran for school board trustee positions in 2022. 

Elected in 2008, Maahs has previously accused doctors talking about medical transition for transgender people of “malpractice,” mocked a transgender man who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer online – “You are a woman. The truth shall set you free,” – and promoted Chilliwack’s iteration of the anti-abortion “Walk For Life.”

Bryan Breguet, running in the Vancouver-Langara riding, appeared on a pro-life podcast on YouTube and criticized Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre because he chastised several MPs after they met with far-right Member of European Parliament Christine Anderson.

Candidate Chris Sankey for North Coast-Haida Gwaii wrote on X in June 2023 that arsonists were starting fires in BC to provide proof for the existence of climate change. He also shared an Instagram clip in 2023 by accused sex trafficker Andrew Tate in which Tate “explains fake news.”

The Canadian Anti-Hate Network is a non-partisan organization and does not endorse or provide any services to any political party.

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