Thoughts on BC Politics and More

One gets the sense that the federal New Democratic Party is being treated with kid gloves by commentators and pundits. It’s almost as if its good intentions buy it dispensation from criticism. We don’t know whether to treat it like a major political party or a fringe protest movement. For the 2011 and 2015 elections, Jack Layton and Thomas Mulcair aspired for the NDP to present itself as a major party—one that sought to form the next government. Its campaigns were sophisticated, its policies were generally well-conceived, and its overall proposition to voters was one of mainstream credibility. The NDP was running with the big boys. The first two weeks of the 2024 campaign couldn’t be more different ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

Screen shot from Island Health Claire Rattée, MLA for Skeena and Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health and Addictions and Brennan Day, MLA for Courtenay-Comox and Official Opposition Critic for Rural Health and Seniors’ Health, are raising urgent concerns regarding the planned relocation of the Ledger Inpatient Program for Children and Youth from the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health to the Eric Martin Pavilion at Royal Jubilee Hospital. The Ledger Program, which provides intensive inpatient mental health care for vulnerable children and youth, is currently housed in a purpose-built facility designed specifically for pediatric needs. Its existing location offers critical therapeutic amenities such as outdoor recreational spaces, a dedicated on-site school, occupational therapy rooms, and creative studios. Reports now indicate that the program is being moved to a facility historically used for adult psychiatric care, causing concerns about safety, suitab...

Every election campaign is an opportunity to remind ourselves one important thing about the polls: they reflect the voting intentions of the general population and not necessarily those of the actual voting population. When there is little difference between the views of voters and non-voters, the impact on the polls is minimal. But when we do see big polling errors, this is often the source of the problem. So, what impact could who actually turns out to vote have on the results? Before we get into that, today’s update ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC Conservative MLA Jody Toor is on the verge of accomplishing a rare feat: getting an opposition private member’s bill passed in the legislature. There have only been three non-government private member’s bills passed this century, all of which were proposed by then-Green leader Andrew Weaver in 2019 under his party’s confidence-and-supply agreement with the NDP. Toor’s bill, which aims to improve prenatal and postnatal care, would give the provincial government a year to craft a strategy to expand mental health care for new mothers throughout the province ... CLICK HERE for the full story

There could be another option for the next provincial election after Karin Kirkpatrick, a former B.C. United MLA for West Vancouver - Capilano, registered a new party with Elections B.C. Named CentreBC, the new party is Kirkpatrick’s effort to provide voters a centrist alternative to what she sees as the left-wing NDP government and the right-wing Conservative opposition, she says ... CLICK HERE for the full story

In this morning’s 338Canada update, the Liberals climb to their highest projection on my tracker since the height of the pandemic. This second week of the federal campaign shows—on average—no tightening of the race, but rather a widening of the gap between the main parties, especially in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. Below are the latest national polls from active firms in the campaign (with a middle field date less than 10 days old) ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The high-priced consultant the BC government has hired to find savings in the health-care system has billed taxpayers almost $1.4 million the past four years to help design the system she’s now reviewing. Dr. Penny Ballem, who the NDP government named as the interim CEO of the Provincial Health Services Authority on Monday, received the money as an advisor on health care to the government, premier and provincial health minister, as well as serving as board chair for Vancouver Coastal Health, the second-largest health authority in the province. The $1.4 million does not include Ballem’s new $400,000 annual salary at PHSA ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC officials were guarded Wednesday about the impact on Canada of the tariff wall U.S. President Donald Trump erected around the U.S., but it appears it could have been worse. Trump’s announcement was so incoherent that much of the rest of the world had to scramble to grasp even the basic details. So cabinet ministers begged for more time to check the impacts. “It’s still very uncertain,” said Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, who chairs the “war room” committee responsible for countering tariff threats. “It’s hard to make sense from President Trump’s speech" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

It might be too soon to call it but I'm going to call it. Mark Carney's Liberals are going to win a large majority government and I'll peg that number around 190-200 seats. There is plenty of data to accurately gauge a few things. First, the Liberals are in control of the narrative of the election campaign. They've seized every issue first with the Conservatives following behind them usually trying to one up them. Second, the Liberals have all the momentum. While that is something we really cannot quantitatively measure it is something those of us long time followers with some training in political science can recognize. This campaign is barreling towards election day with the Liberals riding it to the finish line. Third, the polls are showing clear trends that are not changing. The Liberal lead is expanding by fractional amounts every single day. While Manitoba appears to be somewhat in play the rest of the provinces are all but decided. The Conservatives will sweep Al...

Conservative Party of British Columbia Leader John Rustad is sounding the alarm after S&P Global and Moody’s announced credit downgrades for British Columbia, dropping the province’s rating due to continued record deficits. This marks the fifth credit downgrade under Premier David Eby’s NDP government. “This is a direct consequence of reckless spending and economic mismanagement by David Eby,” said Rustad. “British Columbians are paying more and getting less. Now, we’re paying the price with a weaker credit rating, which means higher borrowing costs for our province.” Credit downgrades came with the following warning, “The negative outlook reflects a one-in-three chance that we could lower the ratings in the next two years if, in our view, the province's commitment to fiscal consolidation continues to waver, as reflected by persistent and substantial deficits.” The report continues stating “The province's commitment to fiscal discipline and stability has wavered in recent y...

Yesterday’s announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump that Canada would be excluded from his sweeping new round of reciprocal tariffs appears, at first glance, to be a welcome reprieve for Canadian industry. But the reality is more complicated. While we’ve dodged the latest bullet, previously announced tariffs—particularly on autos, steel, and aluminum—remain a threat. Politically, the question becomes: does this development take pressure off the governing Liberals and their leader, Mark Carney, or does it open the door for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives to highlight other concerns? ... CLICK HERE for the full story

State capacity is the measure of a government’s ability to get stuff done that benefits its population. There are many ways to quantify state capacity, including GDP per capita spent on health, education, and infrastructure versus outcomes; the tax-to-GDP ratio; judicial independence; enforcement of contracts; and crime rates. But a government’s ability to actually implement its own policies has got to rank pretty high here, too. All the best intentions are worthless if, as I wrote in the context of the Liberal’s 2023 national action plan to end gender-based violence, your legislation just won’t work in the real world. So I thought I’d take a look at some examples of federal legislation from the past ten years that passed through Parliament but, for one reason or another, failed to do the job ... CLICK HERE for the full story

  Chantelle Williams/Facebook “Somebody has to come out and tell the truth on what happened and who’s at fault” ~~ Martin Watts, Uncle of Chantelle Williams The Conservative Party of BC is urgently calling for a coroner’s inquest into the death of 18-year-old Indigenous youth Chantelle Williams, who tragically died under the care of Usma Nuu-chah-nulth Family and Child Services, an agency of the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Her family is disturbed by the lack of transparency and unanswered questions surrounding her final moments, and are seeking answers on who was responsible for her care and supervision and why no one noticed she was missing until it was too late. Chantelle was found unresponsive in Port Alberni in the early morning of January 28, 2025. She was later pronounced dead in the hospital. Temperatures had dropped below –7°C the night of her death. Her family is demanding clarity on the circumstances that led to her untimely passing, and they demand answ...

The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA), Canada’s largest construction association, today condemned Liberal leader Mark Carney’s stated intention to keep the Liberal government’s controversial Bill C-69, despite the Supreme Court of Canada’s clear ruling that much of the legislation is unconstitutional. Major parts of C-69, better known as the “No More Pipelines Bill,” were struck down by the country’s highest court in October 2023. The Court determined the federal government overreached its authority by interfering in areas of clear provincial jurisdiction – a position ICBA strongly supported before the Court as an intervenor in the case. “The Supreme Court got it right. Mr. Carney has it wrong,” said Chris Gardner, ICBA President and CEO. “It is deeply disappointing that Mark Carney has decided to double down on one of the most damaging and unconstitutional pieces of legislation in Canadian history,” said Gardner. “By keeping C-69 in place,...

  CLICK HERE for video of the campaign launch for the Canadian Future Party, with leader Dominic Cardy

With the support of the BC Conservatives, the NDP have passed Bill 8 — in one day — to take the price off carbon pollution, giving in to the Conservative-led campaign to axe the tax.  With their decision to kill the carbon tax, the government is showing that rather than making decisions from a place of principled leadership and addressing the shortcomings of the carbon and rebate system in BC, they are willing to take the path of least resistance ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Members of the fired Greater Victoria School Board have filed a petition with B.C. Supreme Court calling for reinstatement in the wake of their January dismissal by Education Minister Lisa Beare. The court filing says Beare supported a school police-liaison program in the district while the board did not, saying it favoured a version of the program that would give “ultimate oversight” to the board. The petition said Beare conducted a “swift and secret governance review” of the board before deciding on dismissal “based on a myriad of vague allegations which were never put to the board for response" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The Liberals have a huge blindspot on an issue that is intensely important to millions of young Canadians ... we want more children.   I just turned 40. I have two beautiful children — three-and-a-half years old and eight months — and I want a third. That statement raises eyebrows. After all, I run a successful business. I work more than full-time. I live in the same economy as you. And yet — I want another baby. Not because I’m reckless. Because I love being a mom. Because I believe in investing in the future. Because I want to. And in today’s Canada, that feels like a radical act ... CLICK HERE for the full story

In this second week of the federal campaign, the question on many people’s minds is why the Liberals—under their new leader and Prime Minister, Mark Carney—seem poised for re‑election. Our latest polling suggests they’re currently the favourites to clinch another victory. But beyond public sentiment, we also have some more advanced analytical tools that help to paint a clearer picture of what’s truly driving support for the Liberals. One such tool is a binary logistic regression, which can give us insights into how different factors—like impressions of leaders, policy perceptions, and demographic traits—translate into someone choosing (or not choosing) the Liberal ticket ... CLICK HERE for the full story

John Rustad, Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, is declaring a hard-fought victory for working British Columbians after David Eby and the BC NDP announced the elimination of the consumer carbon tax. “This is a win for every British Columbian who spoke up, pushed back, and demanded relief,” said Rustad. “Let’s be clear: David Eby didn’t scrap the carbon tax because he wanted to—he did it because he was forced to. Public pressure worked. And it shows that when people stand up together, politicians are forced to listen.” Rustad, who has long led the charge against carbon taxation, warned that the NDP government is already looking for ways to quietly shift the burden through new taxes on industry that will inevitably be passed on to consumers. “A carbon tax by any other name is still a tax on working families,” Rustad said. “You can bury it in the supply chain, but the result is the same—higher prices at the pump, on groceries, and on home heating. British Co...

The government used to fund rapattack crews for wildfire response in Clearwater. Sadly, this government dropped the rapattack crew in Clearwater a couple of years back. The district of Clearwater has now been forced to use their own municipal funds to set up and pay for a rapattack crew to protect their community this summer. Why is the Premier forcing communities to protect its citizens from a wildfire because this government won’t? And how many other communities will now have to fund their own wildfire response teams? ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

In the face of extreme and mounting pressure against their proposed anti-democratic Bill 7, David Eby and NDP backed down on Friday. The damage to Eby and the NDP, however, has been done. The attempt to sideline the BC Legislature using the Trump tariff threat as cover was as naked a power grab as we have seen in this province and confirms the current NDP and Eby instinct to find ways to exclude not only parliament from the decision making and legislative process, but the public as well. No decision BC’s NDP government makes now can be taken at face value and must instead be viewed with suspicion as to its true intention ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... “the economic impact for our communities will be dire,” citing job losses not just in the Fraser Lake mill but also among log haulers, restaurant workers and gas station employees. These closures disrupt entire local economies. It is clear that current conditions cannot sustain profitable operations, leaving businesses struggling and workers unemployed. The fundamental issue lies in how Victoria approaches forest policy. The government faces mounting pressure from multiple stakeholders. Environmental groups advocate for reduced harvesting levels, while Indigenous communities seek both greater access to timber supplies and a larger role in forest management. While environmental protection and Indigenous rights are important considerations in forest management, and rightly so, the government's approach has failed to balance these priorities with economic sustainability ... CLICK HERE for the full story

One year ago, the Plateau sawmill was the largest single employer in Vanderhoof, a community of 4,500 people about an hour's drive west of Prince George that bills itself as the geographic centre of BC. Today, its lumber yard sits empty — one of dozens of mill closures and curtailments around the province that have sent hundreds of people who had held long-term union jobs seeking employment elsewhere. Those sorts of losses keep Coun. Brian Frenkel up at night, especially as the industry prepares for another hit in the form of U.S. tariffs set to come into effect this week ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The Office of the BC Ferries Commissioner’s decision to approve only four of the five new major vessels BC Ferries has asked for is shortsighted and will have a lasting impact on ferry customers, the economy and the future of the ferry service, the corporation’s chief ­executive said Monday. BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez said the corporation has “notable disagreements” with the reasons given by commissioner Eva Hage for denying the application for all five new ships. On Monday, Hage released a decision approving a capital plan to purchase four new major vessels, but refused permission to purchase a fifth that would have served as a relief ship ... Jimenez said BC Ferries rejects each of those arguments, noting the fifth ship will never be as affordable as it is now. “Building a series of five ships right now will be significantly cheaper than building one or two at a time,” he said ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

Three years after one of the costliest disasters in Canadian history, the provincial government now says it doesn’t have the money to fully fund critical flood-prevention work in the Lower Mainland. The Current reported last week that Tyrone McNeil, the chair of a regional group focused on reducing flood risk, had written a letter to Premier David Eby, expressing “deep concern” about a lack of funding to complete work promised in the province’s new BC Flood Strategy ... CLICK HERE for the full story

In a twist that could make even the most seasoned political observer do a double take, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet is throwing his support behind counter-tariffs against the US — a distinctly federalist position — while remaining firmly opposed to pipelines that would bring Alberta oil to Quebec’s doorstep. Blanchet’s platform promises to fight aggressively for protectionist measures that would shield Quebec industries like lumber and aluminum — and cheese curds — from American trade policies ... CLICK HERE for the full story

In choosing to stand by Markham-Unionville Liberal incumbent candidate Paul Chiang for as long as he did, Mark Carney attracted all the wrong type of attention to his rising campaign—and, with Chiang’s su dden late-night resignation, it’s now apparent he burned all kinds of all-too-valuable credibility. And quite unnecessarily too  ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre mounted a defence of his campaign messaging Monday, saying he has no qualms about focusing on issues like the housing crisis, cost of living concerns and relatively weak economic growth, even as some of his critics say he should go all in on Canada-U.S. relations. In the first week of this federal campaign, Poilievre has so far largely stuck to the playbook that catapulted him and his party to the lead in the polls for much of the last two years ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Interprovincial trade barriers continue to constrain Canada’s economic potential, and stronger regulatory cooperation is needed to spur growth, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Eyes on the Prize: A Game Plan to Speed Up Removal of Internal Trade Barriers in Canada,” Ryan Manucha highlights that interprovincial regulatory discrepancies — from electrical codes to occupational licensing, agricultural regulations, and technical safety standards — worsen issues that Canadians care about such as housing affordability, supply chain resilience, real wage growth, consumer choice, labour mobility, and industrial competitiveness. The study shows how collaboration among federal, provincial, and territorial governments through the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT) of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) can remove vexatious obstacles to commerce, opening more opportunities for Canadians across the country, strengthening Canada’s economic resilience...