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Canada’s third-largest province, British Columbia (BC), has scheduled its provincial election for Saturday, October 19th, 2024. This election will mark a major shakeup in BC politics as the former dominant right-leaning party, the BC United Party (formerly BC Liberals), announced they would not run a mere two months before the election. Instead, BC United’s party leader Kevin Falcon said they would be backing the Conservative Party of British Columbia (BC Conservatives). At the expense of BC United, the BC Conservatives have seen a surge in support and will be looking to defeat the incumbent BC New Democratic Party (BCNDP), while the BC Green Party will also be looking to gain seats.
Polling for this upcoming election has been extremely fast-changing. Just as BC United’s support collapsed, the incumbent BCNDP have also seen their support fall from a 28% lead in September 2023 to trailing by up to 3% less than a year later. Current projections show a 65% chance of a BCNDP majority and around 30% for the BC Conservatives to do the same, though the gap between the two is shrinking.
With a very real chance of the BC Conservatives gaining substantial seats in Parliament, many may be wondering what the party stands for. The question is understandable as the BC Conservatives were formerly a fringe party, receiving less than 2% of the vote in the 2020 provincial election. Unfortunately, the BC Conservatives, particularly leader John Rustad, often have far-right views on issues pertaining to the environment, social justice, housing, and health care. If implemented as policies, these views will have far-reaching consequences that will ultimately harm British Columbians.
Climate Policy
Perhaps most concerningly, the BC Conservatives’ leader, as well as many of their candidates, are climate change deniers and conspiracy theorists. The incumbent BCNDP government has introduced or maintained many policies in the fight against climate change. These include, but are not limited to the BC carbon tax, climate regulations on fuel and housing, and a mandate that all new cars sold in BC must be electric vehicles by 2033 (2 years earlier than the federal requirement). Although the BCNDP has signalled that it is willing to roll back some of these policies, for example, the carbon levy, the BC Conservatives are willing to go back much further in their climate agenda.
The BC Conservatives pledge to cancel the BC carbon tax if elected. Currently, the tax sits at $80 per tonne, though tax credits rebate revenue from the tax to British Columbians. Though some disagree, existing research indicates that a carbon pricing scheme is generally effective in the fight against climate change and is not harmful to the economy. Although there is not a full consensus on the topic, it remains clear that carbon pricing is one tool governments can use in the fight against the climate crisis. However, BC Conservative leader John Rustad claims that this tax takes billions from British Columbians while ignoring how the tax credits rebates tax.
It is no surprise as Rustad is a blatant climate change denier. Not only has he publicly denied human responsibility for the climate crisis, but he has also claimed that climate change is beneficial and calls education about climate change “indoctrination.” He has said that there is “absolutely nothing [Canada] can do as a country” on climate change, and claimed children will be forced to eat bugs to solve the climate crisis. Rustad only became the BC Conservative leader after being expelled from the then-Liberal Party caucus for his non-scientific views on climate change. He has even argued that BC should do nothing to fight the climate crisis because, as he falsely states, “climate change is not an existential threat.”
Furthermore, Rustad wants to expand natural gas and other fossil fuel extraction, including building more pipelines, in BC. He claims this would benefit BC economically; however, extracting and using more fossil fuels will only lead to higher emissions. The BC Conservative platform also includes repealing the Low Carbon Fuels Act, which monetarily rewards producers with low-carbon fossil fuels and reduces emissions.
Interestingly, Rustad dismisses BC’s use of renewable energy resources and is instead a proponent of nuclear energy. Though nuclear energy is more reliable than most renewable sources, it is more costly, polluting, and produces toxic nuclear waste. Nuclear energy is often touted as a stopgap measure until people develop more renewable sources. In a province like BC, where close to all of its energy already comes from renewable sources, it seems odd to prioritise nuclear energy over further developing renewable energy.
Civil Rights & Crime
Last year, John Rustad drew anger after doubling down in questioning for his support of a post comparing Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity (SOGI) education to Indigenous residential schools. Rustad supports “parents’ rights” in education, calling for the SOGI educational curriculum to end–a call introduced in 2016 by the now BC United provincial government. Social conservatives often use the term “parental rights” to implement policies that harm LGBTQ+ parents and children. Premier and BCNDP leader David Eby and BC United leader Kevin Falcon have both criticised Rustad for his stance on SOGI education, calling it “exploit[ing children] for political partisan purposes.”
Further concerning the rights and interests of BC citizens, if elected, the BC Conservatives plan to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. This Act matches the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It requires the provincial government to, among other clauses, create an action plan for ensuring the self-governance and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples. Repealing it would be a step back in Indigenous reconciliation and the self-determination of Indigenous groups. Particularly, some Indigenous leaders have said that Rustad is “throwing Indigenous people under the bus to gain political advantage.”
Moreover, the BC Conservatives have also claimed that they will “crack down on violent crime.” However, they have yet to offer any concrete policies on how they plan on doing this besides populist points about how they will punish criminals and “appoint judges that put victims and their families first.” While public safety is a commendable priority, there is no mention or acknowledgement of the systematic inequality in the criminal justice system that discriminates against Indigenous peoples and people of colour.
Housing & Affordability
Due to the ongoing housing crisis, housing issues are top-of-mind for many voters. A poll in May found that it was the top issue for voters in BC. Throughout the BCNDP’s time in government, they have introduced many policies for housing. The policies include, but are not limited to, the densification of all lots across the province, limiting short-term rentals such as Airbnb to increase housing supply, and taxing homes sold within 2 years of purchase to discourage investors from house flipping.
As these policies just got implemented, it is still too early to tell whether they will be effective. Some estimates claim that more than 130,000 units of housing will be built from the densification policy alone. Still, it is worth noting that most of these expected housing units have not actually been built after the policy’s implementation earlier this year. Regardless, there is no doubt that the provincial government has been very focused on raising the supply of housing, which is in high demand across BC. The BCNDP government’s policies, at least for now, have pushed towns and cities across the province to change their regulations to allow for more housing construction, which is certainly a step in the right direction.
By contrast, the BC Conservatives threaten to undo all of this by promising to roll back all these policies, calling the new laws “taking away the democratic right and the democratic vote” of city councils across the province. However, this ignores the draconian laws and regulations that city councils often put in place to prevent housing from being built before the provincial government’s intervention. In fact, the Conservative platform has no details on housing policies of any sort, with only vague references to “promoting the development of new housing supply” and “cracking down on illegal money laundering.”
Healthcare
In short, BC Conservatives want to introduce private healthcare alongside the existing public system. The idea has proved time and time again to be ineffective in improving patient outcomes by researchers while also decreasing equity in accessing care. Rustad himself has acknowledged that this will cost vast sums of money, an amount that neither he nor his party has clarified.
The NDP government has instituted reforms, but they have yet to make much of an impact on healthcare waiting times. One win for the government is that BC has gained 700 new family doctors since it reformed the payment model for family doctors, but wait times remain long at hospitals and walk-in clinics. Emergency rooms are closing for days at a time in many locations across the province.
Conclusion
While the BC Conservatives appeal to many voters with their messaging around affordability and public safety, electing them will worsen our climate, endanger vulnerable LGBTQIA2S+ youth, and make life worse for British Columbians in general.
There is no disguising the fact that the BCNDP has failed in many places, such as the case of housing unaffordability, the toxic drug crisis, and the healthcare crisis. If the BCNDP wishes to keep or raise its electoral seats, they need to be more aggressive in its messaging, showing where it has achieved progress in improving the lives of people in BC and acknowledging where it has more work to do.
Across the world, incumbent governments have seen large decreases in popularity as voters blame them for the rise in unaffordability and other social issues. For example, Justin Trudeau and his federal Liberal government have been plummeting in popularity for this very reason. This dissatisfaction with incumbent governments has real consequences through the rise of populist parties that ignore science and harm the lives of everyday citizens. This has sadly been the case with the BC Conservatives.
From its former position on the fringe just a year ago to now potentially becoming the governing party in BC after the next election, it is clear that the BC Conservatives only have band-aid solutions for status quo problems rather than any long-lasting policy plans. The BC Conservatives are dangerous because they have no platform. They merely get by through empty promises and buzzwords. Should they come into power in October, the BC Conservatives will threaten the rights and interests of British Columbians.
Edited by Isaac Code
