B.C. leaders officially start election campaign talking health, addiction, economy

It didn’t take long for the leaders of the two contending parties in British Columbia’s election to take a few personal jabs.

Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issued the writ Saturday for the 43rd provincial general election, which will take place on Oct. 19. A fixed election date meant leaders have been unofficially campaigning for weeks, but both the pace of events and the rhetoric heated up quickly when the race truly got underway.

During a stop in Langley as part of a daylong blitz of Lower Mainland communities, New Democrat Leader David Eby took a shot at B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad’s campaign kick-off event by saying it was “sparsely attended,” with a few crows nearby.

Rustad, who opened his campaign at Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside CRAB park, called Eby’s leadership “weak.”

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau strove for a different tone during her party’s campaign launch in Victoria and stayed out of any name calling.

“While the other parties have focused the early days of the campaign on political manoeuvring and mudslinging, the B.C. Greens have released a series of evidence-based plans that will make B.C. the best place in the world again,” she said.

Eby’s first day also included stops in Richmond, North Vancouver and Burnaby, where he introduced candidates in the areas ridings.

Eby was greeted by enthusiastic crowds at Richmond and Langley, where people lined the streets outside his events and crowded into rooms to mingle with the NDP leader.

Eby was presented with Iranian homemade bread at a stop in North Vancouver, which he sampled immediately after ripping off a large chunk.

But he also found time to launch broadsides against his main political rival on issues that are sure to dominate the campaign, namely health care and housing policy.

Rustad is proposing to make deep health-care cuts and will drop government housing affordability measures, returning the homes issue to property speculators, he said.

“We’re going to build the housing people need,” Eby said, adding Rustad said Saturday government should not have a role in housing.

“I’ll tell you what, John, if I’m elected premier, if I earn the trust of British Columbians, ensuring that every British Columbian has access to an affordable, high-quality home in their community is priority one everyday for premier David Eby.”

He said he finds himself staying awake at night thinking about ways to build more homes for people.

Rustad said he chose CRAB park on Vancouver’s waterfront for his campaign opening because it showcased the industrial activity happening at the city port, as well as issues of homelessness and toxic drugs.

The park has also been a site of friction. Several homeless people mounted a successful court challenge to stay in an encampment set up on the property, but city crews moved in early this year, saying the site had become dangerous and hazardous.

Just a few tents remained in the background behind Rustad’s podium on Saturday.

“It is a stark contrast between what we’re trying to do for the people of British Columbia and where we hope to see hope for our future,” he said of the encampment.

“B.C. is at a crossroads … the question is, are we going to fight for a future, or are we going to continue to manage decline?”

Rustad later moved on to Vancouver Island, where the B.C. Conservatives are targeting several NDP-held ridings.

He said his party would lay out the B.C. Conservative plan over the next 29 days to address issues that he said the NDP have failed to solve.

“There is hope that we can bring change, whether it is getting rid of the carbon tax, whether it’s the investments that we’re going to make in health care, whether it is the changes that we need to do to get treatment and recovery in place for people with addictions, or whether it is making sure that we get our economy going,” he said.

Eby also focused on Rustad’s health care agenda, saying the B.C. Conservative plan would mean cuts, including fewer health-care workers and cancelled hospital projects.

“You don’t fix that system by cutting services, by cutting money out of that system,” he said. “Now is the time to hire health-care workers. Does that seem intuitive to you? It seems intuitive to me.”

Eby, who started his campaign a day early on Friday, said the province is facing many tough challenges, including affordable housing, public health care, mental health and addictions and the cost of living. But he pledged to be “laser focused” on tackling them.

“We can’t divide each other,” said Eby. “The only way we solve these problems is by working together. Here’s my commitment to you, to everybody in this room, to all British Columbians: we won’t rest until the job is done.”

Furstenau said her party is committed to “greater collaboration” and “communication,” with the goal of solving problems of health care, education, social safety, infrastructure and affordable housing.

“We have to address these challenges. They’re all solvable, but we don’t solve them by going to our corners and pointing our fingers at each other and spending all of our time focused on who’s right and who’s wrong,” she said. “It is about working together.”

Furstenau said the party’s full platform would be released in the coming days.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2024.

Dirk Meissner and Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press