What is promised by the parties in this election ?

The New Democratic Party (NDP), the Greens and the Conservatives had a month to convince the BC electorate to vote for them. While none of these parties will put working class people in power, they need to convince enough workers to vote for them if they want to form the government. Here is a quick overview of what they promised them.

On Sep. 22, B.C. premier David Eby called a snap provincial election two years early when British Columbians were already preoccupied with the long-scheduled municipal election. Report has estimated that this election will cost B.C. $90 million. 

Three major parties – NDP, Conservatives and Greens – will compete for seats on Oct. 24. Two newer parties, centrist CentreBC and the far-right OneBC also joined the race. 

Budget deficit and taxes

The NDP comes to this election with a deficit of $13.8 billion, which has become the main target of criticism from the Conservatives. To drive down the deficit, Eby promises to “tax the rich” by increasing income tax rates from 16.8 per cent to 18.8 per cent for those who earn above $190,405. The NDP also introduces a new tax bracket at 24.5 per cent targeting individuals earning over $1,000,000 a year.

“My biggest issue with your plan, Mr. Eby, is that you are taxing work and not wealth,” said Emily Lowan, Greens leader. Lowan believes Eby’s strategy to reduce the deficit would only generate a “miniscule” revenue while striking a toll on mostly health professionals, doctors and professors. 

To increase the provincial revenue, Lowan said Greens would follow a one-time tax model targeting B.C. ultra-wealthy class. “If you have a fortune of $50 million and up, you would pay a 5% tax on that wealth once,” Lowan said, indicating the strategy would deliver $22.2 billion in revenue to fund universal childcare, free transit and affordable housing. 

To grow the economy, the Conservatives say they would prioritize small businesses development and make good use of B.C. natural resources. 

The Conservatives propose multiple tax cuts that will profit some workers, but mostly businesspeople, including a $1000 income tax relief and a three-year PST exemption on productive capital – such as taxable machinery, equipment and business software – and major construction projects. At the same time, they have released an operational spending of roughly $1.4 billion in total a year without a clear explanation of how they would fund most of their promises. 

They plan to put $72 million to grow the economy, $150 million to “make B.C. affordable”, $975 million to healthcare, $223 million to public safety (including $178 million to police), and $5 million to promote B.C. arts and culture. 

“We are going to cut through ‘red tape’ in this province and all of the bureaucracy that is holding us back so badly,” Lorne Doerkson, Conservative interim leader, said in the debate. 

Cost of living and labour rights

On labour rights, the Greens propose to implement the pilot a sectoral bargaining model that aims to protect workers in many labour-intensive sectors from lowering working standards and poor wages enabled by “business competition.”

“Sectoral bargaining helps by allowing for the establishment of a base set of terms and conditions, including pay, for an entire sector rather than an individual company,” Greens’ policy brief explains.

The Greens also promise to raise the minimum wage annually at the rate of inflation plus one per cent “until parity with the living wage is reached.” The party would also improve BC’s successorship rights that would give more rights to all workers who work in contracted industries when their business is sold or merged. 

The Conservatives say their plan to cut $1000 in annual income tax would help British Columbians save $176 a month for grocery and gas. They would increase funding in disability assistance ($100 more per month) and create a refundable BC Children’s Activity Credit ($500 per child annually). Doerkson’s party would give away $5000 in First Job Tax Credit to any business that hires B.C. youth on their first job. 

Doerkson says he would replace the ICBC’s no-fault system with a hybrid model that would give victims with serious injury the right to sue for compensation while keeping the insurance premiums low. However, Doerkson’s new model would open up the doors to personal injury lawyers and expensive lawsuits. He – however – promised to “put a cap on how much lawyers can charge”. 

Several unions in the province – the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU local 2) – have shown their endorsement to the NDP. Union leaders hoped the party would continue protecting workers’ rights like they have done by passing laws, such as Single Step Union Certification and Successor Rights. 

If re-elected, Eby and the NDP promise to secure jobs for “workers in hard-hit sectors during the trade war.” Eby’s party would invest $153 million a year through the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund that they claim to “help or create more than 4,800 jobs across B.C.” Like the Conservatives, the NDP also plans to bring in a Youth Hiring Tax Credit that would reward small businesses with $5000 in tax credit for hiring young workers on their first full-time job. 

Housing 

Housing affordability is another key item on the platform of the NDP. Eby plans to invest $390 million to fast-tracking non-market housing projects. Through the BC Rental Protection Fund, the NDP wants to partner with the federal government to buy at-risk buildings to keep rents affordable.

The NDP also plans to implement an Unsold Condo Tax at two per cent on developers whose completed condos have been vacant and unsold for more than a year. The rate would be increased by one percentage point for each additional year. The party promises to turn 20,000 units into long-term homes by increasing the Speculation and Vacancy Tax rate from one per cent to two per cent.

“Your government has been more responsive to luxury condo developers than average renters, people like my family who can’t afford these market rate units,” Lowan said, slamming the NDP’s housing management in recent years. 

The Greens advocate for strengthening the protection of renters’ rights. If elected, Lowan’s party would introduce Vacancy Control law that ties rent increases to the unit. The current system allows landlords to raise renting prices after a change of tenant. This legislation would protect tenants from landlords’ unjust eviction to raise prices. 

The Greens also promise to build and protect 26,000 housing units, including 2000 affordable rental homes, every year by restarting the Community Housing Fund and Indigenous Housing Fund.To encourage housing development, the BC Conservatives would cut construction taxes and charges, as well as adopt a fast permit approval process. 

As of September 2026, there were 7503 completed condos sitting empty across the province – an increase of 65 per cent from last year – a report by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) indicates.