Carney Meets with Eby in First BC Campaign Stop

On his first visit to British Columbia during the election campaign, Liberal Leader Mark Carney promised to protect more of Canada’s lands and waters, and met with NDP Premier David Eby.

"A new Liberal government will pursue a bold new nature strategy with smart approaches to preserve our natural habitat and to use our finite natural resources to maximum impact," Carney said during a stop at the Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse in Saanichton on Vancouver Island.

The farm is in the Saanich-Gulf Islands riding where Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May is fighting to hold onto the seat she has held since 2011.

With local Liberal candidates standing behind him, Carney mentioned the previous Liberal government’s commitment to protect 30 per cent of the country’s land and 30 per cent of its waters by 2030. "Why did we do this? Because we as Canadians value sustainability in all its forms."

The government is about halfway towards the goal, he said, promising to continue towards it by establishing 10 new national parks and marine conservation areas, as well as 15 new urban national parks. He did not specify where.

Carney pledged to support Indigenous-led conservation projects, expand Indigenous guardians programs to the Arctic and make national parks and historic sites free for all Canadians in the coming summer.

A re-elected Liberal government would also, at the first opportunity, reintroduce legislation to enshrine First Nations’ right to safe, clean, reliable drinking water, he said.

"Our new plan recognizes one undeniable fact," said Carney. "Protecting nature and climate change are intimately linked. Our soils, our oceans, our trees, are the best stores of carbon that we have."

Nature-based solutions can significantly contribute to reducing carbon emissions and staving off the worst effects of climate change, he said. "Only by fighting climate change can we protect our natural environment, and only by protecting our natural environment can we protect ourselves, our planet, our future, from the threat of climate change."

Asked about reconciling action on the environment with a growing oil and gas industry, Carney said that compared to other countries a high share of carbon emissions in Canada come from producing and transporting oil and gas.

"We need to get those emissions down," he said, adding that there are opportunities to advance carbon capture and storage. "We can get those emissions down with Canadian technology."

At the same time, producing more oil and gas pushes out foreign supplies, makes Canada richer, pays for social programs, creates good jobs and helps support the environment, he said.

Carney began his remarks by addressing the volatility in the stock market and said he and others concerned about the effect of tariffs had warned President Donald Trump it would happen.

Carney said he recognized the strain on retired people who are watching investments lose value. A re-elected Liberal government would reduce, for one year, the amount that seniors have to withdraw from their Registered Retirement Income Funds by 25 per cent, he said.

It would also increase Guaranteed Income Supplement payments by five per cent for a year, which would give low-income seniors up to an extra $54 a month. "This boost will help them to weather the storm," said Carney.

Later in the morning Carney met with Eby at the Legislature. They did not take questions from the media, and Eby ignored a shouted question about whether he is supporting Carney.

Headed into the election 13 of B.C.’s 43 seats were held by the NDP led by Jagmeet Singh, but polls suggest the party is in danger of losing almost all of them to the Liberals and the Conservatives led by Pierre Poilievre.

There is some crossover between the B.C. provincial NDP and federal Liberals. Former NDP premier Ujjal Dosanjh was a federal Liberal MP for seven years. In the current election former NDP MLA and Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson is running as a Liberal in Vancouver Fraserview-South Burnaby.

Eby has said recently that he remains on "Team Orange," which is the NDP, though he has been supportive of the "Team Canada" approach and Carney’s engagement with Trump on tariffs. Eby also met with Singh recently.

At the stop earlier in the day a reporter reminded Carney that former prime minister Justin Trudeau described himself as a "progressive" and asked if he would also describe himself the same way.

"I believe in progress," Carney said. "I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think we could make Canada, which is the greatest country in the world, even better. I recognize injustice that still exists in our society of all forms and we need to strive every day to make progress on that."

Alongside growing the economy Canada needs to make progress on taking care of our natural heritage for our children and grandchildren, he said.