Thoughts on BC Politics and More

While much has been made of First Nations opposition to Bill 14 and Bill 15, it is important to remember that major business groups including the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) and the BC Chamber of Commerce), the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) – BC's major municipal organization, along with most environmental organizations, also opposed them.   This is a coalition of forces previously unimaginable in opposition the power grab by Premier David Eby’s BC NDP government. The real question is why should we care?   The NDP had just enough votes to get it passed, it’s law, and so everyone should just go home and settle down. And therein lies the problem ... The NDP argues that these Bills are necessary to give the government flexibility to meet potential tariff threats from the US. Despite other jurisdictions not seeking these kinds of powers, and the tariff threat seemingly on the decline, let's for the sake of argument say the NDP truly needed the pow...

Well, Canada’s electric vehicle policies are playing out exactly as I predicted. Which is to say, they’re a disaster. Back in November, in the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump’s re-election, I wrote in these pages that, whatever else that election might mean for Canada, it would prove big trouble for the Justin Trudeau/Doug Ford EV scam. The substance of their plot works like so: first, the federal and provincial governments threw mountains of taxpayer dollars in subsidies at automakers so that they’d come to Canada to manufacture EVs. Then Ottawa mandated that Canadians must buy those EVs — exclusively — by the year 2035. That way Ford and Trudeau could pat themselves on the back for “creating jobs,” while EV manufacturers could help themselves to the contents of our wallets twice over ... CLICK HERE for the full story

There’s a new $5-million pool of provincial money being made available to BC police for use in fighting non-violent crime like shoplifting. In the catalogue of crimes that dominate the ongoing public safety debate, shoplifting is one of the less dramatic. (The Opposition opened a question period in the legislature this week by asking about “tourists being beaten black and blue,” a man who was decapitated, another whose hand was cut off by a machete and a mother punched in the face while holding a baby, among other atrocities.) But police and an official from one retailer — London Drugs — stressed that shoplifting is having severe consequences in BC communities ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Residents in Vancouver’s affluent Kitsilano neighbourhood waged a fierce three-year legal and political battle against a planned supportive-housing development on city-owned land. They won. In April the city backed down, signing a consent agreement to halt rezoning for the project and paying the Kitsilano Coalition $3,445 in legal costs. Advocates fear this is just the latest sign of a bleak future for supportive housing in the province ... CLICK HERE for the full story

New polling from local firm Janet Brown Opinion Research (JBOR), released last week by CBC Calgary, offers fresh insight into Alberta’s political landscape—both in terms of party support and the simmering appeal of the separatist movement, which has been making waves since Mark Carney’s federal Liberal victory. Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party (UCP) maintains a comfortable lead over its New Democratic rivals. But storm clouds may be gathering on the UCP’s horizon: according to JBOR, nearly all Albertans who support separation from Canada fall within the UCP base. How Smith manages this growing sentiment within her party could help define the second half of her mandate, with the next provincial election scheduled for fall 2027. Still, based on this new data, the updated 338Canada Alberta projection shows the UCP would cruise to a massive majority if an election were held this spring ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Conservative Party of BC Caucus I HAVE TO laugh at the emails I receive from the BC NDP.   There’s never a time they don’t outright trash the BC Conservative Party, but hey, all party’s do it, right? Still, I found yesterday’s email very entertaining because of their so-called two key points about the Conservatives, and of course their solicitation of donations.   Here’s a snapshot from the email: I spend A LOT of time watching our BC NDP team work for people in the Legislature and this spring I noticed two key things about John Rustad and his BC Conservatives. 1.    They’re completely out of touch with what matters to everyday British Columbians; and 2.    They’re absolutely serious about trying to bring down our government as soon as they can. We have a razor-thin majority. To defend it — and preserve all the good work we’ve done for people in the last seven years — we have to be ready for whatever he throws at us. Right now, we aren’t. We have...

... the 2025 election results representing an electoral foundation for the party to build upon, there’s an alternative case that it may actually represents its peak. There may not be much room for further optimization. That can be seen through the distinct experiences of O’Toole and Poilievre. The two offered opposing theories of the case—moderation versus reconsolidation—and yet both ran into the same fundamental constraint. The party can trade base enthusiasm for centrist appeal, or vice versa, but there’s an extent to which it must be understood as a zero-sum exercise. The message, ideas, and tone to reach one set of voters necessarily impose limits on reaching others. The Conservative Party may be stuck in a virtual one-for-one tradeoff between its base voters and non-base voters that cannot be further optimized. If that’s right, then the answer isn’t mere adjustments. It’s foundational rethinking. It may seem counterintuitive, but if Conservatives accept this premise—as former Har...

British Columbia’s housing minister says he is concerned about the future of supportive-housing projects in Vancouver after the city quashed construction plans in a west-side neighbourhood amid a legal battle with residents over the rezoning changes. The rezoning for the 129-unit, 13-storey project in Kitsilano was rescinded April 30, after a consent order between a local residents’ group and the city essentially overturned a 2022 approval. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, BC Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said he was surprised by the city’s decision to abandon fighting a lawsuit the Kitsilano Coalition for Children and Family Safety Society had brought claiming the city’s public-hearing process for the rezoning was flawed ... CLICK HERE for the full story

It took a tie-breaking vote from Speaker Raj Chouhan to save the government from potentially falling, after government house leader Mike Farnworth made the bill a matter of a confidence vote. All three of BC’s political parties will be licking their wounds this summer as the last few months have left First Nations and municipalities united in their anger at the governing NDP, the Conservatives dealing with a number of defections, and the Greens’ caucus of two struggling. Premier David Eby in February said the session would be focused on addressing the “existential threat” posed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats ... CLICK HERE for the full story

There are indisputable facts pointing to Canada heading towards a major economic slowdown or recession in 2025. There are economists on both sides of that issue presenting compelling arguments. Here's the most simple way to put it: even if those predicting a recession are wrong, all of the economists then agree on a prolonged period of low economic growth. In other words, things aren't going to get better economically. They'll remain more or less the same which is almost just as bad. It means stagnant wages and with that low revenue growth for governments. That means we'll see higher deficits or cuts to program spending or a mix of both. That's bad. If you look at the economic growth from the 4th quarter of 2024 and the 1st quarter of 2025 there is nothing to cheer about. The level of growth was anemic. The rate of inflation on necessary items like food was and still is rising far faster than the Bank of Canada's target. By any objective measure the economy is u...

While the NDP brought forward a thin legislative agenda this session, our Conservative Caucus delivered real wins for British Columbians — not just through legislation, but through consistent advocacy, public pressure, and principled opposition. “ As the spring session comes to a close, I want to thank our team for a season of hard work and meaningful results ,” added John Rustad, MLA for Nechako Lakes and Leader of the Official Opposition. From repealing the carbon tax and ending unwitnessed safe supply, to securing critical services for children like Charleigh Pollock and calling out government failure in tragedies like the death of Chantelle Williams, our team has made a tangible impact. While the NDP struggles to manage public backlash over Bills 7, 14, and 15, our caucus was advancing practical solutions. Our members tabled 11 private members’ bills focused on affordability, mental health, emergency response, public safety, and interprovincial trade. Several of these initiatives w...

A scathing new study by a Canadian addictions physician concludes that ideologically driven “social justice” governments have worsened the country’s fentanyl crisis by aggressively funding and promoting so-called “safer supply” programs—despite a lack of evidence they save lives. Instead, as mounting proof showed that thousands of government-distributed opioid tablets—as potent as heroin—were being diverted into the black market by organized crime, Health Canada, public health officials, and sympathetic media outlets continued to defend the controversial programs and attack critics. Even as violent incidents emerged—including a shooting outside a Toronto safer supply clinic—the study notes that some advocates called for medical professionals to be removed from program oversight entirely ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Rosalyn Bird, MLA for Prince George-Valemount and Critic for Citizens’ Services, has given notice of two bills to be introduced in the next legislative session. The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act will ensure that British Columbians can engage with, and scrutinize, government operations. It will also reinforce trust between the public and government institutions, encouraging ethical governance. “The importance and relevance of this legislation cannot be overstated. In recent years, several recommended changes to Freedom of Information and Privacy legislation in BC. have been presented to the government through committee work and stakeholder engagement, with no action resulting,” said Rosalyn Bird. “When government loses its grounding in truth, transparency, and accountability, it endangers not only its legitimacy, but also the well-being, unity, and future of residents. Upholding these principles is not optional – it is essential for our province to thri...

Yesterday, Claire Rattée, MLA for Skeena and Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health and Addictions, stood with Tyler Gibbs — the son of Diane Chandler, a 60-year-old woman who died alone in her room at Foxglove, a provincially-funded supportive housing facility operated by RainCity Housing in Surrey. Her body remained undiscovered for 11 days. “What happened to Diane Chandler is not just a tragedy, it’s a failure of every safeguard that was supposed to protect her,” said Rattée. “This government calls it supportive housing. But where was the support? Where was the oversight? Where was the care?” Gibbs only learned of the details surrounding his mother’s death once he inquired during her cremation a month later. During that same time, Tyler learned that the facility had mistaken Diane for another tenant during a wellness check, another resident who tragically passed away a few days after this incident. “If the staff thought that this other resident was Diane, where did they think ...

Post-election polling is slowly trickling in, and early results suggest Prime Minister Mark Carney is enjoying a honeymoon. Many Canadian voters appear far more satisfied with the federal government than they were just a few months ago—and Carney’s personal numbers remain strong as Parliament returns to work this week. To wit: Fresh polling from Innovative Research offers a post-election snapshot of how Canadians are feeling about the federal government and party leaders. When asked whether they’re satisfied or dissatisfied with the federal government’s performance, nearly half of respondents (49%) say they’re satisfied. Another 43% say they’re dissatisfied, while 8% are unsure ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A controversial bill in British Columbia responding to American tariffs has passed with Speaker Raj Chouhan casting the deciding vote Wednesday evening. Bill 15 fast-tracks public and private infrastructure projects, and Chouhan’s vote means that the bill has passed third and final reading by a 47-to-46 vote ... ... passage of Bill 15 comes after it has faced weeks of criticism from Indigenous groups, municipal officials, environmentalists and some business leaders ... CLICK HERE for the full story

There are staggering new numbers that show the ripple effect on Canada’s bottom line if BC got rid of trade barriers with other provinces. “If British Columbia were to adopt a similar bill to those of Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island, or sign mutual recognition agreements with all Canadian provinces, the country’s economy could grow by an estimated $50.2 billion,” an analysis by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) stated ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... the latest disclosure from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the country’s largest pension fund, that its exposure to the United States has increased to nearly half of its total assets (47 percent), up from 42 percent in 2023 and 37 percent in 2019. The numbers were a striking reminder of how much of our long-term retirement security hinges on the stability and openness of the U.S. economy. The second bit of news was buried in Trump’s new budget proposal. It reportedly includes provisions that could allow the U.S. to override key tax treaty obligations with Canada, giving Washington the unilateral power to impose taxes on Canadian investment returns—including on our pension funds. Together, these stories highlight a deeper vulnerability than we may be considering: the United States could emerge as a systemic risk to our national wealth ... CLICK HERE for the full story

It’s a case of the “phantom savings.” That’s what the Opposition is calling $300 million in internal cuts the BC government claims are in the budget, but can’t actually be found anywhere and haven’t even been identified yet. It’s a ghostly figure, haunting the pages of the fiscal plan, scaring the bejesus out of government employees and cabinet ministers alike with the spectre of budgetary reductions. Yet it has so little substance you can see right through it, as Finance Minister Brenda Bailey was forced to admit this week during her ministry’s budget estimates. Bailey was quizzed by Opposition critic Peter Milobar repeatedly, over several hours, to show the $300 million in savings ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Even accounting for the usual standard for rhetorical hyperbole in throne speeches, talk of the “largest transformation” of Canada’s economy in 80 years certainly stands out. It’s a bold statement that Prime Minister Mark Carney has made several times since he officially entered politics in January. Yet we’re still no further ahead in understanding what precisely it means. What kind of transformation does he envision? What does it involve? What are the trade-offs? What will it look like? What will it mean for Canadians? Answers to these basic yet important questions remain decidedly elusive ... CLICK HERE for the full story