Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Premier David Eby’s decision to back down on the most contentious clause of his anti-tariff legislation has deflated what was a crisis situation into a throbbing political headache. Yet his government still faces a rough ride on the remainder of its proposal. Three of the business groups that helped push back on Bill 7 say it’s not good enough for government to simply drop the clause that gave cabinet unfettered power to bypass the legislature and change any law for two years (known as part four of the bill), because the remainder of the legislation also contains problematic overreach ... CLICK HERE for the full story

With less than a day to go before British Columbians are supposed to see a drop in gas prices, the province is under pressure to pass legislation Monday that would eliminate its long-standing consumer carbon tax. The B.C. government says it intends to fully repeal the provincial consumer-facing carbon tax by April 1 — a move expected to reduce prices at the pump by about 17 cents per litre and save residential natural gas users nearly $30 per month, according to FortisBC. But first, the repeal needs to be passed in the legislature ... CLICK HERE for the full story

As part of the once-a-decade riding redistribution process, B.C. has gained a riding for the 2025 federal election and seen many political boundaries reshaped. The new political map is likely to change the political calculations for federal parties, with the additional riding located in the BC Interior, an area historically popular with the Conservatives. And a University of BC political scientist says the redrawing of political boundaries in Metro Vancouver could add to the challenges faced by the federal NDP and its leader Jagmeet Singh, who has to contest in a significantly redrawn riding ... CLICK HERE for the full story

British Columbia’s politicians are back in the legislature today after a two-week break that included a significant climb-down in the government’s proposed response to U.S. tariffs. They return to a workload that is expected to include eliminating the province’s consumer carbon tax with the looming threat of more tariffs on Canada starting mid-week ... CLICK HERE for the full story

When we are under the impulse of strong emotion, the French advise us to turn our tongue seven times in our mouth before speaking. This sage advice to give reason a moment to catch up to and overmaster our anger is particularly apt in thinking about how to respond to Donald Trump’s tariffs, which we’re set to learn more about this week. Our first and perfectly understandable impulse is to try and hurt Trump back. Not only is our ability to do so limited, however, calm reflection suggests a far better goal for Canada. That goal comes in two parts: limit the damage in the short run and increase the pressure on Trump to see the virtue of free trade with Canada in the longer term. Both are eminently feasible if we keep our heads ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The federal election is now in full swing. With the American trade war compounding a years-long affordability crisis, the cost of living is predictably a central issue for voters. According to a recent Ipsos poll, 23 per cent of Canadians ranked cost-of-living as their top issue. To address affordability, the two major parties have thus far offered a series of tax cuts. These proposals are economically nonsensical and regressive, undermine solidarity, and further contribute to the right-wing drift of Canadian politics ... CLICK HERE for the full story

If U.S. President Donald Trump fails in his stated goal of annexing Canada through economic force, what would happen if he ordered the world’s most powerful military to invade? Some experts and academics say it’s a notion too preposterous to even contemplate. But Aisha Ahmad isn’t one of them. “When you look at the power (imbalance) between the U.S. and Canada, an invasion would immediately result in the defeat of the Canadian Armed Forces,” said the University of Toronto political science professor, who last month published an essay on the subject in The Conversation. “But a conventional military victory is not the end of this story. It’s just the beginning" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Joe Tay, the Conservative candidate in Don Valley North, issued a formal statement Monday demanding that Liberal leader Mark Carney remove MP Paul Chiang as the candidate for Markham–Unionville, citing Chiang’s threatening comments and an unsolicited attempt to contact him. “Mark Carney must fire Paul Chiang,” Tay said in the release. “His threatening public comments were intended to intimidate me, and they must not be tolerated.” Tay also revealed he has already engaged the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for personal protection, citing growing safety concerns — even before Chiang’s remarks became public. “This situation has left me fearing for my safety,” he said ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Messaging that doesn’t consider the audience is not just ineffective, it can be actively harmful to connecting with your audience. Imagine you are working at a restaurant and your table lets you know they’re vegetarians. Hearing this news, you launch into a detailed description of the slow roasted prime rib and why it would be an excellent choice for their meal. You might be right; it might be the best prime rib ever. It doesn’t matter. Your guests are unlikely to order it, and worse, they are probably going to be left with a negative impression of the service because you ignored what was important to them. This is a communications lesson the Conservative campaign seems to be missing in the early stages of the federal election ... CLICK HERE for the full story

As we enter the second week of this election campaign, there is some indication in the polls that things might be settling into a new normal. It’s a normal that would produce a Liberal majority government, but it’s also a normal that means it wouldn’t take much to change the outcome of this election significantly ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre spent much of the first week of this election campaign targeting NDP-held ridings that could be up for grabs now that polls suggest New Democrat support is in free fall — but the recent Liberal surge has upended those plans. The big political story of the campaign so far is the remarkable resurgence of the Liberal Party — which only weeks ago was thought left for dead — as some voters sour on Poilievre after he led in the polls by huge margins for the better part of two years. It's a phenomenon largely driven by U.S. President Donald Trump and his economic assault on Canada with his devastating tariffs ... CLICK HERE for the full story

British Columbia Premier David Eby's government is walking back a key portion of its controversial tariff response law, admitting the proposed legislation "didn't get the balance right." Eby said Friday that the legislation known as Bill 7 needs appropriate "safeguards" after a wave of criticism about potential overreach. "My interest in being able to move quickly to respond to the threat that British Columbia is facing got the better of … my understanding that the safeguards that people are calling for need to be there as well" ... he said a key portion of the law is being "pulled," which would originally have given the cabinet sweeping powers to make regulations to address challenges "arising from the actions of a foreign jurisdiction" ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

The Liberals’ and Conservatives’ proposed income tax cuts will not significantly benefit most Canadians, economists across the political spectrum say. “They’ve been pitching this as proposals for lower- and middle- income households,” said David Macdonald, a senior economist at the progressive think tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. “They’re certainly not for lower- and middle-income households.  “They’re for higher-middle and upper-income households.”  Jack Mintz, an economy professor at the University and Calgary and senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, agrees ... CLICK HERE for the full story   (Note, registration required to access this story)

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s campaign desperately needs a reset, according to some veteran Tory campaigners and strategists. The question is whether the former front-runner for Canada’s next prime minister and his inner circle will acknowledge and address that Donald Trump, not carbon taxes or crime, is the ballot box question, the sources tell Global News ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The first week of this campaign is (nearly) in the books and it looks like the Liberals come out the better for it. It wasn’t a perfect week for the Liberals, but it ended on a high note with an apparently positive call with the U.S. president. Meanwhile, the Conservatives seem to be in panic mode as multiple media outlets have found people within the orbit of the party willing to air their grievances out loud. The New Democrats are valiantly, if fruitlessly, trying to get their share of attention ... CLICK HERE for the full story

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh made several housing-related announcements in Toronto about what his government would do if elected. Singh also questioned Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s blind trust, and his relationship with Brookfield ... CLICK HERE for the full story

No mention of the prime minister as a “governor.” No mention of Canada as a 51st state. The first phone conversation between Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump ended Friday without taunting by Trump, with an agreement to start comprehensive trade and security talks after the federal election, and a clear hint Trump sees Carney as the future prime minister. Trump said on Truth Social he had a constructive conversation with “Prime Minister Mark Carney.” Later, speaking at the White House, the president called him “Mark” and previewed a “Casablanca”-like beginning of a beautiful friendship ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

BC’s New Mining Consultation Framework Falls Short on Clarity, Confidentiality, and Respect for First Nations   REVELSTOKE, BC: The Conservative Official Opposition is calling out the NDP government’s rushed and flawed rollout of the Mineral Claims Consultation Framework (MCCF), saying it ignores industry requirements and fails to deliver the meaningful consultation with First Nations that is constitutionally required. “This framework falls far short of the respect these communities deserve,” said Scott McInnis , MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke and Critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. “The NDP have prioritized checking a legal box over building a process rooted in trust and transparency.” McInnis said the entire framework looks like it was rushed through to meet the March 26 implementation deadline. The framework appears only to satisfy the minimum requirements of the Gitxaała ruling. “This is not reconciliation,” said McInnis, “it’s regulatory theatre...

John Rustad, Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, acknowledges a partial victory for democracy as Premier David Eby signals a retreat from the most egregious overreach in Bill 7. However, Rustad remains vigilant, emphasizing that the fight for British Columbians’ rights is far from over. “David Eby’s initial attempt to grant himself sweeping, unchecked powers was an affront to our democratic principles,” said Rustad. “While his recent concession is a step in the right direction, it only scratches the surface. The rest of Bill 7 must be scrapped. History has taught us: you never give an inch to tyrants—they will always take a mile.” Rustad underscored that Bill 7 represents a dangerous centralization of power, threatening local democracy and private property rights. “British Columbians didn’t vote for a government that overrides communities and bulldozes over local decision-making. They deserve a government that works with people—not against them.” Rustad also voiced st...

A longtime veteran of British Columbia provincial politics is entering the federal election race as an independent. Mike de Jong announced Thursday that he would run in the new Abbotsford-South Langley riding. De Jong served eight terms as an MLA under the BC Liberal/BC United banner, holding multiple cabinet portfolios including finance, attorney general, public safety and health ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

After lobbing a grenade into the campaign on Wednesday night, U.S. President Donald Trump took up much of the political oxygen on Thursday. Liberal Leader Mark Carney took time off the campaign trail to meet with some cabinet members in Ottawa. Carney came out of that meeting saying Canada is reading to respond with retaliation to the Trump's tariffs on cars. He said he was willing to speak with the president but made a bold, yet bleak, declaration ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Are the Conservatives heading into an Ontario wood-chipper? That seems to be the case, at least according to one internal poll. The polling story making the rounds yesterday was not about the numbers from any of the media or public polls. It was instead about figures produced by Campaign Research, the Ontario PC Party’s pollster, and first reported by the Toronto Star ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Canada is at a turning point. For years, many Canadians worried about scarcity: skyrocketing housing costs, chronic healthcare strain, and unstable jobs. Now, those concerns are mutating into a sense of deeper precarity. People aren’t just scrambling for what they need today; they’re increasingly afraid that core systems—healthcare, housing, and social programs—may fail altogether. Rising geopolitical tensions and U.S. tariff threats only heighten this unease, feeding questions about Canada’s resilience ... CLICK HERE for the full story

That was a muted statement he gave. Sure, we had the lines of we'll endure. We'll prevail. Blah, blah, blah. It was muted though and the reality is, our Canada Goose might be cooked unless someone in the USA can scare some sense into Donald Trump One thing I respect about Mark Carney is that he's managerial. That's the same quality I liked in Stephen Harper. You aren't dealing with an ideologue. Guys like Carney and Harper tell you when it is bad, that it is bad. They don't sugar coat it. They don't pump you up. Justin Trudeau was a very different kind of man. He rallied the troops on the eve of battle, even if the outcome was going to be defeat. Maybe that's a bad thing. You know? Setting unrealistic expectations. Then again, maybe being realistic isn't all that great either. That's a discussion for another time. Regardless, yesterday Donald Trump went off the rails again, gave a rambling speech about how everyone is mean to America and he a...

The first full day on the election trail and both the Liberals and Conservatives pledged the same thing: to change the personal income tax rate of the lowest federal tax bracket.  The Liberals would cut it from 15 per cent to 14 per cent and the Conservatives drop it to 12.75 per cent (over two years). The Liberals are promising a personal income tax cut that they say will benefit middle- and low-income Canadians the most. “More than 22 million Canadians will benefit directly from this tax cut,” according to their press release. The Conservatives say “modest-income Canadians will feel the most savings” from their tax-cut plan, according to their press release ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC’s Conservative critic for children and family development is demanding answers from the province after the death of an Indigenous teenager in care in Port Alberni. Family of Chantelle Williams, 18, say the teen died on Jan. 28 after being found unresponsive only a few blocks from the group home where she was living, CBC News reported. Her family members told CBC they believe she froze to death but they’ve been told the teenager died of natural causes ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC’s new flood strategy is not even a year old, but a prominent advisor to the plan worries the province has already shelved efforts to better protect riverside communities from floods. Stó:lō Tribal Council President Tyrone McNeil recently wrote to Premier David Eby expressing “deep concerns” about a lack of action to implement the various actions that the new strategy says must be done to reduce flood risk in BC ... CLICK HERE for the full story

As is appropriate, election campaigns are about differences and divisions. Wedging your opponents against the voting cohorts they are seeking, pointing out their flaws and inadequacies, and dragging them into policy fights that are accretive to you politically with the groups of voters you aspire mobilize. That is politics; that is campaigning. Wading past the torqued divisions, however, lay a host of policy issues around which there can be a consensus. And, in this campaign, in this moment of a need for an economic realignment to counter the sabotage of President Trump, a handful of issues have emerged with none as clear as the often-heard comment that “we need to break down our internal barriers to trade" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a major capital gains tax hike, only to delay its implementation—a move that triggered a flurry of asset sales before the higher tax could take effect. That maneuver temporarily swelled federal coffers and made the 2024–25 fiscal outlook appear stronger, although Trudeau is no longer around to capture the political benefits. As it turns out, his successor, Mark Carney, has been able to swoop in and campaign in Canada’s snap election on the back of reversing the very same tax hike. This sequence—proposal, delay, revenue spike, and cancellation—raises serious questions about the Liberal Party’s credibility on tax fairness and economic stewardship ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Will inter-generational polarization define this campaign? As the campaign takes shape, one of the emerging story-lines is about its inter-generational dynamics. This is partly because they’re working in a counterintuitive direction ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The opening days of this election campaign haven’t exactly been quiet. Mark Carney and the Liberals have had a few rough days in Quebec ... Pierre Poilievre has had to deal with an unhelpful intervention from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and leaks of CSIS allegations that India worked to support his leadership bid in 2022 ... And over in NDP-land, Jagmeet Singh can’t escape questions about whether his party is about to be wiped out ... CLICK HERE for the full story

There was a satisfying flow of responses to my invitation to share your thoughts about what could earn your votes. All told, the text containing your ideas came in at around 15,000 words (or a 50-page book). Naturally, that’s way too much for me to build a reliable narrative out of the whole thing. So I asked my AI chum to go through the responses looking for the big trends. Taken in full, this report will please no one. There’s no easy way to draw a single overarching theme that’ll capture the prevailing sentiment and suggest that, in fact, we’re not so badly divided after all. Sorry. We’re pretty badly divided. But the AI’s final thoughts at the end of this post do hint to some shared space. Looking past the politics and focusing instead on some big-picture goals, we do seem to share some core preferences for what government should look like and how much value there is in good faith and honesty ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Politicians are off to the races, now that an election has been called for April 28th. The parties will have 33 more days to convince voters that they deserve their trust. As the campaign begins, the Liberals are ahead in an aggregation of all major pollsters done by 338Canada. The Liberals currently lead the Conservatives by 4 percent, a 2 percent increase compared to last week ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... The federal election looked to be one focused on the carbon tax with the Conservatives promising to axe it. But it seems there has been a shift after Mark Carney, in his first act as prime minister, signed a directive to cut the consumer cost of carbon to zero as of April 1st, while upholding the industrial carbon tax. People like Fontaine are happy to hear about the decision ... CLICK HERE for the full story

British Columbia Energy Minister Adrian Dix says U.S. President Donald Trump's claims about Canada supplying water through the Columbia River Treaty are "not accurate," and the U.S. can manage the water that flows over the border "however they see fit." Dix says there has been speculation about how the treaty could potentially be used as a "bargaining chip" in the trade war with the U.S., but with a 10-year termination provision, he notes that "Canadian action to terminate the treaty would have little effect on the current dispute" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Today, in a media release, ICBC announced ... $110 rebates now on their way to customers   ICBC has started delivering 3.7 million rebates of $110 to eligible customers. The rebates total $410 million and apply to all personal and commercial customers who had an active eligible Basic insurance policy in January 2025. ICBC is under the direct control of the provincial government, and they always seem glad to take credit when things are going well.  That of course allows for the government to interfere, in its’ operation, for their own political benefit. Not so much though a few years back, however, when the only thing people could talk about, in reference to ICBC, was that it was ‘ dumpster fire ’. I had assumed that ICBC, while under the umbrella of our provincial government, was technically to be hands off from the government interference.  I was wrong! According to the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC): 'ICBC is a provincial Crown corporation established and owned by the B...

A provincial program meant to support young adults from the foster care system has not provided any of its expected rent supplements in more than a year, IndigiNews has learned. Sources say the Strengthening Abilities and Journeys of Empowerment (SAJE) program has not provided any of the anticipated rent payments since February 2024 — two months before the program was enacted into “B.C.” law — raising concerns about the initiative’s future ... CLICK HERE for the full story

At the dissolution of parliament, British Columbia had a remarkable three-way split of seats for the three major parties, and that could be a sign that their leaders will be spending a lot of time on the West Coast as they look to woo voters to their side. The Liberal Party held 14 seats, the Conservatives had 14 of their own, while the NDP held 12 and party leader, Elizabeth May, held the sole Green Party seat in the province. Another seat on Vancouver Island was vacated last month. That unusual balance of seats will likely see the major party leaders spend considerable time in BC  ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The question that was asked most often heading into this election was whether or not the Liberals could really sustain their momentum. Surely, as Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet said, what goes up must come down. But it seems that the Liberals might not be done with the ‘up’ part just yet. A series of new polls suggest the Liberals are expanding their lead over the Conservatives and are cresting the threshold of 40% support. This does not come at the expense of the Conservatives, however, but rather the New Democrats ... CLICK HERE for the full story

UPDATE:   Brennan Day spoke to Jori, Charleigh’s mom again this morning. The ministry has extended treatment until June 28th. Letter still stands though, the system is broken and no family should need to go through this again and again. Pure torture. (03/25 9:19am) COURTENAY, BC: Brennan Day, MLA for Courtenay-Comox and Critic for Rural Health and Seniors Health, is calling on Health Minister Josie Osborne to immediately intervene in the case of nine-year-old Charleigh Pollock, whose access to a critical life-sustaining treatment is set to expire this week. Charleigh, a courageous young girl from Langford, has been battling CLN2 Batten Disease, a rare and terminal neurological disorder, since 2019. For the past five years, she has been receiving bi-weekly infusions of Brineura, a groundbreaking therapy that has significantly stabilized her condition and improved her quality of life. In February, the Ministry of Health informed the Pollock family that funding for Charleigh’s treatme...

Photo credit: xtock, stock.adobe.com U.S. President Trump is poised to be the top ballot box issue with the Canadian federal election campaign underway ... ... In a survey done exclusively for CTV News, Nanos Research was the first to publish polling that showed Trump, and how federal party leaders will deal with him, is a top concern for Canadian voters. Nanos research was the first to publish polling that showed that Trump, and how federal party leaders deal with him, is a top concern for Canadian voters ... CLICK HERE for the full story