John Rustad, the former leader of the BC Conservative Party, says he is not planning to make a run for his old job.

In a post on Facebook Sunday morning, he said he made the decision “after a lot of reflection.”

“This decision is not about the importance of the moment we are in,” he said.

“It is exactly because this moment matters that I am making it. British Columbia needs a Conservative Party that is united, focused, and ready to form government. The best thing I can do for the party, and ultimately for the province, is to support the next leader and help ensure we come out of this process stronger, not divided.”

This comes after he previously said he would “make himself available” to talk about a potential run. At the time, he said he had “no comment” about a report that said he had received and requested a leadership application. When asked about the report, Angelo Isidorou, the party’s executive director, said he was “not at liberty to share who has or hasn’t requested a package.”

Rustad said Sunday he plans to encourage members and supporters to “stay engaged, stay focused, and rally behind whoever earns the responsibility of leading this party forward.”

“We need to be ready to defeat the NDP and deliver real change for British Columbians,” he said.

Rustad resigned as the leader in December after 20 members of his caucus signed a letter saying they had lost confidence in him and the party’s board had declared him “professionally incapacitated.”

The party will hold a leadership vote May 30, and each of the candidates is expected to submit applications signed by at least 250 members and pay $115,000 to appear on the final leadership ballot.

— With files from 1130 NewsRadio staff and The Canadian Press