John Rustad has spent two straight days dodging direct questions about his comments that the COVID-19 vaccine was about “controls on the population” and that the government inflated pandemic data.

Now, a new video is circulating of Rustad echoing a bizarre conspiracy theory about forcing people to eat bugs - and it’s sparking a huge reaction online.

Rustad said: “A new plant was built in Ontario, in the Ottawa area. This plant produces 40,000 tonnes of bug protein for human and animal consumption… We should not be expecting our kids to eat bugs.”

The conspiracy theory that climate scientists and “global elites” have an agenda to make people eat bugs got its start in the European far-right and on 4chan message boards. Rustad’s specific complaint about a plant in Ontario originated on a Facebook group that posts conspiracy theories about COVID and the World Economic Forum. It has been debunked by many news outlets, including CBC and NPR.

The video was posted yesterday by Press Progress and has received 250,000 views and hundreds of comments. The original video is available here.

Carbon-based beings are reacting strongly to the video:

“No one was ever going to make anyone eat bugs. Where does this weird thinking come from?” -Ann Bibby

“Fantastic. The leader of the BC opposition is an out-and-out conspiracy theorist” -Ciarán

“Man, Rustad spent wayyyy too much time on Facebook during the Pandemic. He’s seriously got brain rot.” -Dieter MacPherson

“John Rustad appears to be a median Facebook boomer grandpa who can't tell the conspiracy theories from the real world, and could become the premier of the third-largest province in Canada.” -Bruce Arthur

“So now we know he is a nut.” -Peggy Blair

“We know he is anti-science but everyday it’s a new low.” -Shane Monkman

“Oh dear. Rustad is really off the rails. This is nasty, embarrassing and dangerous.” -Zoe

“Such a perfect encapsulation of Rustad's mind - totally uncritical of garbage he reads on Facebook.” -Thomas Wade

“How my country went from proudly celebrating our centennial in 1967 and becoming the envy of the world, to guys that say we'll be forced to eat bugs to win a few votes is just sad.” -M.C. Wilson

“This is insane.” -Janis Mullan

“This stupid talking point didn't work in the States when Trump's team tried it. Wtf is this guy doing?” -Marc

“Just sick, does he know that those are the exact same talking points the Russian paid influencers were instructed to say?” -Freddie Oversteegen

“I'm not entirely convinced at this point John Rustad doesn't accidentally set himself on fire at least 3x per week while getting dressed in the morning.” -Dale Thompson

“Rustad has clearly eaten a few bugs himself. The electorate needs to be vaccinated against his disinformation and conspiracy theories as he is a superspreader.” -Campbell Patterson

“He’s nuts.” -North Van Jan

“This guy is an absolute loon!” -Frank Mossa

“Enough of these conspiracy nuts already” -Tom Harri

“They really want to be the same as MAGA don’t they?” -ItIsWasItIs

“Either Rustad felt that catering to this kind of bs kept him relevant or he is all in on it. Either way, this is not a serious person capable of provincial leadership.” -Mel

“Ick!” -CanadianLady

“Another wacko!” -Julie

“Can't take this guy serious!” -Shelby

“Can someone please do a wellness check on Grandpa Rustad?” -Penny Thompson

“He sounds like jackaloon Jordan Peterson. And this nut wants to run B.C.?” -Roxanne Zoey

“Ladies and gentleman, I give you the man who would be Premier.” -Tim Pearson

“Weird.” -Sherri