Rustads' UBCM Speech Lays Out Conservative Plan: Restore Property Rights, Replace Metro Vancouver, Annual $1 Billion Infrastructure Fund

Speaking to municipal leaders at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, Conservative Leader John Rustad laid out three clear commitments a Conservative government would deliver to local governments: restoring property rights and predictability, dismantling Metro Vancouver’s unaccountable bureaucracy, and establishing a $1 billion infrastructure fund.

“We’ve seen and heard your concerns,” Rustad told delegates. “About property rights and predictability for housing. About accountability and transparency. And about the need for real investment in core infrastructure. A Conservative government will deliver on all three.”

Rustad said the NDP’s Heritage Conservation Act amendments, DRIPA, and the Cowichan decision have created chaos and uncertainty for municipalities and builders, stalling housing projects across the province. “Certainty builds housing. Uncertainty kills it,” Rustad said. 

“We will repeal the HCA amendments, repeal DRIPA, and refer the Cowichan decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.”

On accountability, Rustad pointed to the escalating costs and secrecy of Metro Vancouver. 

“Metro Vancouver has become the poster child for unaccountable government. We will replace it with a lean, transparent utility, answerable to municipalities,” he said. Rustad also criticized wasteful insider spending in Victoria, including a $450,000 contract for the Premier’s comedian, $6,600 spent by the Finance Minister on a limo ride, and millions more on government spin doctors and consultants.

On infrastructure, Rustad committed to a $1 billion formula-based fund for water and sewer projects, giving municipalities predictable, shovel-ready resources. 

“You cannot build housing without sewer and water, and you should not have to beg a minister for the basics,” Rustad said.

Rustad tied these priorities to the real challenges facing municipalities: communities losing small businesses to vandalism and theft, local economies hollowed out, and public safety under strain. He referenced the arson that destroyed CrossRoads Brewing in Prince George, saying: 

“When a prolific offender with 26 charges since 2021 can burn down a community hub, that’s the cost of this government’s failures. Local governments and small businesses are pleading: give us back our streets. We will.”

“Local governments are not beggars at a minister’s door,” Rustad concluded. “You are leaders. You are partners. And under a Conservative government, you will be treated that way. Together, we will rebuild the basics: safe streets, working pipes, and thriving main streets.”