BC Provincial Election: Candidates, issues, and voting

By: Kaja Antic, Staff Writer and Daniel Salcedo Rubio, Features Editor

The provincial election is coming up soon, and for some of us it may be our first time voting in one — or just voting in general! While the election itself is not until October 19, it’s not too early to know who you’ll be able to vote for, what the different parties’ platforms are, when voting dates are, and where to vote. 

How do BC elections work?

Every seat in the provincial legislature is voted on by the citizens of electoral districts, or ridings, which are geographical subdivisions. Each district usually has a candidate for each party, and whichever candidate gets the most votes in their district, earns the seat. The total number of seats each party earns determines how much power they hold in the legislative assembly. The party with the most elected candidates is typically the winner, with the party’s leader serving as premier. 

When can I vote?

While the official election day is October 19, you can vote before then! Advance voting will be available at select locations from October 10–13 and October 15–16. Voter registration can be done online, by telephone (1-800-661-8683), in person at a registration drive, or directly at the Elections BC offices. To qualify for registration, you must be a Canadian citizen, over 18 years old, and have lived in BC for at least six months before the final voting day on the 19.

 “Voter registration can be done online, by telephone (1-800-661-8683), in person at a registration drive, or directly at the Elections BC offices. To qualify for registration, you must be a Canadian citizen, over 18 years old, and have lived in BC for at least six months before the final voting day on the 19”

Where do I vote?

For the 2024 provincial election, new electoral districts have been created to better accommodate BC’s growing population. Elections BC has created a map where you can enter your address and learn more about your new district boundaries. There are also preliminary locations released for the general election day, as well as advanced voting days. These locations won’t be finalized until closer to the election, and once you register, you will receive a “Where to Vote” card that includes the advanced and general voting locations for your electoral districts. If you would prefer to vote via mail, the last day to request a voting package is October 13, which you can order over the phone or online.

Voting is an important part of adulthood, as it not only affects our lives, but affects those around the province. We have the right to vote, and the responsibility to exercise our opinions in a democratic society. Whether by mail or in-person, if you meet the requirements for voter registration, I highly encourage you to do so. Keep up with campaign news, learn the MLA candidates in your district, research their policy positioning, and get out to the booths!

BC New Democratic Party
Current seats: 55
Leader: David Eby

The BC NDP principles revolve around creating an affordable province for everyone, reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, fighting climate change, and prioritizing the working class and small businesses. They’ve held the majority of seats since 2017, taking over from the then-BC Liberals. 

The party has yet to release an official platform for the 2024 election, though much of the proposed 2024–25 budget has indicated what their focus will be for the fall:

While they have projected a deficit of $7.9 billion, the party says those deficits come in the form of benefits for “ordinary British Columbians.” This includes a $248 million one-time bonus to the BC Family Benefit fund (where roughly 340,000 families will receive an average of $445), a one-time BC Hydro credit off-setting about $100 per consumer per year, and a 10% increase to the Climate Action Tax credit, among other changes. While these aren’t new programs, the increments are meant to curb the burden of high living costs in the province for middle and low-income earners. However, some have criticized the budget. BC United’s finance critic Peter Milobar, argues the NDP has a “spending problem.” He pointed out that the new taxes and increments to existing ones have resulted in billions in revenue, which he claims, is coming from “small businesses or average British Columbians.”

At the biennial BC NDP convention in November, Eby and hundreds of delegates discussed key priorities for the party going forward. Notable policies that were agreed upon include:

• Expanded speculation and vacancy tax — which aims to reduce the amount of vacant housing by taxing owners who leave units empty, ensuring foreign owners contribute to Canada’s tax system.
• Combating high grocery prices with a proposed price cap on essential goods at the federal level.
• Increasing climate action initiatives — they will continue and expand CleanBC policies, which is the government’s official plan to further reduce emissions and promote sustainable practices.
• Improving rural health care services, though the NDP has not elaborated on their plans to do this. 

BC United (formerly known as BC Liberals)
Current seats: 24
Leader: Kevin Falcon

BC United currently holds the second-largest number of seats in the BC legislative assembly. The party is losing support across the province, with a decrease in funding, defecting candidates, and an increasing number of MLAs leaving to join the Conservative Party. 

BC United’s platform for the 2024 election includes proposals for the environment, every-day living costs, housing, and more. Their policies are:

• Affordability: To combat high living expenses, they’ve proposed the removal of the tax on fossil fuels and carbon tax hikes, which they argue will also reduce grocery prices. Other proposals include the removal of the electric vehicle subsidy, which they argue only benefits the wealthy. They also plan on affordable child care for all low and middle-class families.
• Environment: The party plans to scrap the NDP’s CleanBC climate action plan, as they argue it’s not beneficial for the environment and it’ll come at the expense of jobs. However, in 2023, BC’s environment minister said the NDP’s plan made progress to climate action, as “the province has cut oil and gas methane emissions by 50%” and “22% of new vehicles sold are zero-emission.” Some other proposals by BC United include revamping firefighting services, prioritizing local experience and response teams for wildfire management, and investing $200 million in revitalizing BC’s habitats. 
• Safety and healthcare: The party proposes strengthening the justice system by hiring more police, and preventing violent offenders from being released and posing danger to the public. The party also plans to reverse the decriminalization of controlled substances, a measure which has been effective in reducing stigma and drug mortality rates in some of the cities which have implemented it. For healthcare, the party plans to make treatments affordable and treatment beds available to those who need them, and hire back unvaccinated healthcare workers.
• Housing and education: BC United intends to establish a rent-to-own program for first-time buyers, and require developers set 15% of participating developments as part of this program. The party will also require universities to provide enough housing for domestic students before accepting international students. For education, they plan to ensure “kids learn the basics and get back to improved results,” which would include reimplementing letter grades, banning cellphones in class, and including parents in the education system, though there is no mention of how these actions correlate to an improved academic output.

Conservative Party of BC
Current seats: 4
Leader: John Rustad

The Conservative Party of BC’s principles lie in individual liberty and freedom, social responsibility, and an economic model with minimal government interference. The party is led by MLA John Rustad, who was removed from BC United after questioning the legitimacy of climate change science regarding carbon emissions being harmful to the environment. Rustad briefly served as an Independent MLA, before joining the provincial Conservatives, becoming leader as the only Conservative MLA to hold a seat.

The policies of the Conservative party echo similar declarations as BC United:

• Environment: The party wants to scrap the carbon tax — a federal mandate which can’t be repealed by the provincial government. They also aim to expand production and exportation of liquified natural gas, and build more pipelines for the transport of oil and natural gas. Some of their other policies include encouraging the sustainable development of BC’s resource industries, such as mining, hydro-electricity, and fishing — they plan to hold activists protesting resource development legally and financially accountable. 
• Education: The party plans to remove “ideology” from classrooms, however, the party isn’t clear on what “ideology” entails. Other policies include supporting parental choices in their children’s education, provide funding to all forms of education, including public, private, or homeschooling. Finally, the party also intends to re-allocate post-secondary funds towards medicine and engineering rather than arts and social sciences.
• Healthcare: The party plans to repeal vaccine requirements and rehire government and healthcare workers who were fired due to them. They also intend to reform the healthcare system, allowing private clinics, reducing wait times, and increasing doctors and nurses by funding and supporting training programs. Other policies include re-opening mental health facilities, ending safe supply of illicit drugs, and rehabilitation. 

Rustad has held numerous transphobic stances in his term, such as a failed bill to ban trans athletes from publicly-funded sports, and compared the “genocide of Indigenous children in residential schools” to the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, as both were impeding so-called “parental rights.”

BC Green Party
Current seats: 2
Leader: Sonia Furstenau

The BC Green Party is part of the Global Greens network, meaning they follow sustainability, participatory democracy, social justice, ecological wisdom, non-violence, and respect for diversity as their core principles. The party is largely concerned with the electorate’s “wellness and all issues that impact it,” which includes healthcare, housing, climate action, businesses, and more. The party has been led by Sonia Furstenau since 2020, who has been a Vancouver Island-based MLA with the party since 2017.

While the Green Party’s 2024 platform is still unavailable, their BC Green Policy document provides insights into their goals: 

• Healthcare: The party supports accessible and publicly funded healthcare for all, with a focus on preventive care and early intervention. Other policies include stricter standards for mental health providers, evidence-based strategies and safe supply access for substance use, and prioritizing accessibility and economic support for people with disabilities.
• Social and Economic: The party promotes income security through a “livable income, low-cost housing, and increased employment opportunities.” Other policies in this area include affordable childcare, promoting intercultural programs led by BIPOC communities to tackle racism, and tackling inequalities in the criminal justice system by collecting disaggregated race data. The party also endorses the integration of Indigenous knowledge and comprehensive climate education.
• Environment:  The party goals for the environment revolve around “protection, restoration, and remediation.” One of their priorities is to support greenhouse gas reduction targets, ending subsidies for fossil fuels and halting related industries’ expansion, and expanding the carbon tax. Other policies include support for biodiversity conservation by funding conservation efforts and expanding protected areas, support the development of renewable energy projects, and responsible forest, water, and resource management.