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The incoming B.C. Conservative government ran its campaign on promises to rein in B.C.’s ballooning deficit and reversing many of the B.C. NDP’s policies over the last nine years.
According to the Conservatives’ platform, the party plans to reduce the province’s deficit to $10.8 billion by 2030. The party is also promising to freeze outside hiring, cut consultants and review spending across ministries to find billions in savings.
Here are some of the promises being made by the new Conservative government under premier-designate Lorne Doerkson.
No PST on Canadian booze
The Conservatives said they will raise B.C.’s basic personal income tax exemption from $13,216 to $32,000, which it says would cut provincial taxes by on average $1,000 per person.
The incoming government says it will not raise existing taxes or introduce new ones, and remove much of the “red tape” brought in by the NDP since 2017, including around building housing.
WATCH | Doerkson’s meteoric rise to premier:
Lorne Doerkson, from virtual unknown to B.C.’s next premier
In addition, the Conservatives say they will remove the provincial sales tax (PST) on Canadian beer, wine and spirits — as well as on certain machinery, industrial equipment and software.
They also want to implement a first job tax credit for businesses on the first $5,000 of payroll for a young British Columbian’s first job.
Health care and toxic drugs
The B.C. Conservatives say they are standing firm on keeping B.C.’s system universal and publicly funded, despite the NDP warning the Conservatives will move towards health-care privatization.
The party has promised to complete the new Surrey Hospital and B.C. Cancer Centre, and build a new women’s and children’s hospital in Surrey.
Doerkson has pledged to maintain health-care funding in B.C. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)
It has pledged to expand detox and treatment services, along with ending the safe supply of drugs, to deal with the toxic drug crisis.
The party says it will amend the Mental Health Act so officers can connect people with severe addiction or mental health challenges incapable of caring for themselves with “mandatory care.”
Transit and auto insurance
The Conservatives have promised to replace the George Massey Tunnel in Delta with a 10-lane bridge, and do away with the current tunnel replacement project.
They have also pledged to extend the SkyTrain to Surrey’s Newton area.
In one of the campaign’s biggest flashpoints, the Conservatives said their government would scrap the province’s no-fault auto insurance model.
The party says some vehicle accident victims would be allowed to file lawsuits with capped legal fees.
WATCH | Proposal to largely scrap no-fault insurance:
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LNG and climate change
The Conservatives’ energy plan says that it would double liquefied natural gas production by 2032 and triple it by 2035.
The party has promised to repeal CleanBC, a B.C. NDP plan to lower climate-changing emissions by 40 per cent by 2030.
Expanding trades training
The Conservatives have promised to expand dual-credit programs, apprenticeships and paid work experience, make it easier for schools to hire qualified tradespeople, and develop a Future Mining Jobs Blueprint with industry.
The party has also promised to restore letter grades for grades 4 to 9 and repeal SOGI 123, a teaching resource on sexual orientation and gender identity, and include parental notification and opt-out rights.
Indigenous rights and reconciliation
The Conservatives say they would repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).
In his victory speech, Doerkson appealed to First Nations communities as partners in the province’s development, and the party has previously said that scrapping DRIPA would provide more certainty for economic development in B.C.
WATCH | Doerkson reiterates his intention to repeal DRIPA:
Doerkson pledges to repeal DRIPA ‘as soon as we can’