B.C. Conservative platform prioritizes affordability and safety

The B.C. Conservatives have released their platform just four days ahead of Saturday's election, promising to prioritize affordability, safety and infrastructure.

The platform, unveiled at a Tuesday morning news conference at the University of British Columbia, includes $2.3 billion in annual spending over two years, bringing the current $9 billion deficit forecast by the New Democrats to $11 billion by 2027. It also touted a range of tax cuts that could cost the government $4 billion a year. 

However, Leader John Rustad promises to balance the budget in the second term of a Conservative government. 

The platform includes several measures to make B.C. more affordable, including a "Rustad Rebate," which would exempt up to $1,500 per month in housing costs from income tax, eliminating the PST on used cars and scrapping the carbon tax. 

It also includes several "safety and recovery" measures, with a promise to crack down on repeat and violent offenders, mandatory treatment for people with addictions "unable to make life-saving decisions on their own." and an end to tent cities.

However, the platform does not include a breakdown of costs for major capital promises such as a new children's hospital in Surrey, a new SkyTrain to Surrey-Newton, and the replacement of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and the George Massey Tunnel. 

Other infrastructure projects promised in the Conservative platform include a new bridge across Okanagan Lake, the replacement of the aging Taylor Bridge across the Peace River and upgrades to several highways. 

Rustad says he will conduct a review of government spending to identify and cut or reallocate resources from NDP projects that he says haven't delivered results for people, including the Clean B.C. program, which provides grants and subsidies to businesses that reduce their carbon emissions. 

The Conservative platform promises not to cut health-care funding and increase spending by $900 million next year and $500 million the following year.

"Under a Conservative government, common sense change will be the approach that we take in British Columbia," Rustad said at a Tuesday morning news conference at the University of British Columbia. "Enough of a province that's run by ideology, that's run by the NDP." 

Rustad's platform, which does not list any tax hikes, says its increased spending and budget deficits will be offset by an additional $10.4 billion in annual revenue by 2030 due to the forecast of an annual growth of 5.4 per cent, compared with the "NDP scenario" of 3.1 per cent growth.

Both growth forecasts are well in excess of most other predictions, with TD Bank estimating 1.9 per cent real GDP growth in 2026 and the Conference Board of Canada seeing growth in the province averaging 2.1 per cent in 2027 and 2028.

During the news conference, Rustad did not respond to a question about whether he would include in his cacucus Conservative candidate Brent Chapman, who has recently been at the center of controversy for comments he made in 2015 about Palestinians. Rustad noted Chapman has hired a lawyer. 

The Conservatives' platform comes weeks after the B.C. Greens and the B.C. NDP released theirs.