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Less than a week out from provincial election day, the B.C. Conservatives have released their fully-costed party platform.
It comes after around 500,000 British Columbians have already cast their votes in advance polls.
The Conservatives’ delay in providing a fully-costed platform has become a talking point for their political opponents, who claim the party remains in turmoil weeks into a snap election call.
The platform promises billions in new revenue and projects overall economic growth of 3.2 per cent by 2029.
That figure is more than 50 per cent higher than the forecast in the last provincial budget, and considerably higher than recent projections by the Bank of Canada and International Monetary Fund at the national level.
B.C. Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson defended the numbers on Monday, saying at a news conference that level of growth is “absolutely doable.”
“I think we are predicting about one per cent more optimism in the province than the NDP, and frankly I think it’s completely achievable,” he said.
Doerkson has defended his party platform’s growth projections, which are well above national projections from the Bank of Canada, as absolutely doable. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)
Nicholas Schmitt, a professor emeritus at the Simon Fraser University School of Economics, said given the current level of economic volatility, projected numbers will be difficult for voters to assess.
“It’s difficult to put credence into these, especially given the level of uncertainty in which we are currently living given the relationship between the U.S. and Canada,” he said.
“We don’t know how things will unfold in the next six months, let alone in three years.”
Shrinking the deficit
The B.C. Conservative platform takes aim at the B.C. NDP’s spending, saying the provincial deficit has ballooned out of control since David Eby took office.
It promises to generate $2.6 billion in new revenue over three years, while shrinking the deficit to $10.8 billion by 2030.
It says that if gross domestic product grows by 2.5 per cent in 2027, 2.8 per cent in 2028, and 3.2 per cent in 2029, the province will collect an additional $2.62 billion over three years, compared with the NDP’s own forecast.
The platform says a Conservative government, if elected, would cut spending by freezing outside hiring, cutting consultants and reviewing spending across government ministries.
The document says that review would find about $1.8 billion in savings over four years, while the hiring freeze and attrition of staff outside the front lines would save about $2 billion.
The B.C. NDP, whose leader David Eby is seen at a news conference, argue the B.C. Conservatives would cut health care and lead a shift towards privatization. (Nav Rahi/CBC)
Adrian Dix, seeking re-election for the NDP in Vancouver-Renfrew, held a news conference early Monday in response to the B.C. Conservatives’ platform release.
He claimed the B.C. Conservative platform would, in fact, lead to a higher deficit than what’s been promised by the NDP, and called the 3.2-per-cent growth projection “unrealistic.”
“They went to great lengths to hide the fact that their proposed deficits are higher than the NDP’s,” said Dix.
“They arbitrarily reduced the B.C. NDP’s economic growth forecast while boosting their own.”
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Health-care spending debated
Throughout the campaign, the B.C. NDP have warned that a B.C. Conservative-led government would result in deep cuts to an already strained health-care system, and a shift towards privatization.
Doerkson refuted those accusations Monday, saying “we will fully fund health care. Public, absolutely public health care is a priority for us, and we’re continuing to support that.”
“We are looking at attrition though, with respect to the public service sector for sure,” he said.
The B.C. Conservatives’ health-care promises include protecting public health care, keeping rural emergency rooms and maternity wards open, and expanding long-term care.
It also promises to complete the new Surrey Hospital and B.C. Cancer Centre, and build a new women’s and children’s hospital in Surrey.
There is no explicit mention of health-care cuts in the Conservative platform. Among the promises are $2 billion in annual savings from cuts to contingencies, which the platform refers to as a “slush fund.”
Contigencies fund items like health care and wildfire-fighting costs.
The B.C. NDP said in statement that this amounts to a “backdoor [health-care] cut” that they claim will result in cancelled surgeries and reduced hospital service.
Schmitt said while it’s unclear where cuts would come, a B.C. Conservative government would be forced to cut some spending if their projected growth doesn’t materialize.
“If the rate of growth is lower than what they predict but they want to cut, for instance, taxes right away, something will have to give,” he said.