Leaders Battle over BC’s Future in TV Debate

All three of the province’s main political parties declared victory after the only televised debate of the British Columbia election campaign.

Indeed each of the three leaders likely did leave the stage feeling they had done what they needed to do.

NDP leader and incumbent premier David Eby described the province as being in an “existential moment” and presented his party as the safe choice to build the economy and deliver government services.

“I'm not perfect,” he said, “but I will always act in the best interest of British Columbians and that's my commitment to you and your family.”

At the same time Eby pressed BC Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson on how he would pay for the nearly $5 billion in promises he’s made during the campaign and on the hateful comments and social media posts made by some Conservative candidates and the party’s campaign director.

Doerkson insisted he would always stand up against hate and pledged to lead his party with respect and dignity. “I will definitely bring a different flavour of leadership,” he said acknowledging the period of chaos his party has come through.

He drew attention to challenges British Columbians face with the cost of living, accessing health care, public safety and what he described as a weak economy. “This election is about David Eby’s record in the past 10 years,” he said.

BC Green Leader Emily Lowan introduced herself as the only renter on the stage and the only leader who has worked a minimum-wage job in the last 10 years. “I think my youth is an asset,” she said, noting the different perspective she brings.

She criticized the government for failing to take bolder action to tax the wealthy and for abandoning its commitments. “This year's election bribes are next year's broken promises,” she said. “This has been the consistent trend for your government.”

If the Greens hold the “balance of responsibility” in a minority government, their support would depend on a commitment to reform the voting system to make it more proportional, she said.

The hour and 45 minute debate included sections on government finances, the cost of living, the economy, housing, health care, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, public safety and governance.

Other than the occasional mention in passing, there was little to nothing said about schools, the environment, colleges and universities, ferries, transit, roads, wildfires, energy, agriculture, labour laws, parks, conservation and many other areas of provincial responsibility.

The format, chosen by a consortium of the province’s television broadcasters, allowed the leaders a short time to make a statement on each of the chosen topics, followed by periods of “open debate” in which they vied to talk over each other.

Eby, positioned in the middle of the stage, wore a blue jacket and white shirt open at the collar with no tie. To his left, Doerkson wore a navy suit, white shirt and a tie that was the same shade as his suit. On the other side, Lowan wore a tailored steel-blue jacket, blue collarless dress shirt and bead earrings.

The debate also included short video clips from CentreBC leader Elenore Sturko and OneBC Leader Dallas Brodie, parties that weren’t included in the debate because they lacked official party status when the legislature dissolved. Each has candidates running in about one-third of the province’s 93 constituencies.

Both Eby and Lowan criticized Doerkson for the Conservative Party’s failure to release a fully costed platform ahead of the debate. By the NDP’s account, Doerkson has promised about $5 billion in new spending while also promising not to raise taxes, leading the other leaders to conclude the Conservatives would have to cut services.

Doerkson said a costed platform is coming and that a Conservative government would grow government revenues by “supercharging” the economy.

A question about the accounting in the NDP’s platform came up when Lowan criticized Eby for cutting $1.4 billion from the Community Housing Fund in the 2026 budget that would have funded non-profit organizations to build social housing.

Asked if he was committing to restarting the fund, Eby said, “We'll have a housing announcement about increasing the construction of social housing, absolutely” and insisted “it's in our costed platform we released today.”

The two-page fiscal and costing plan does not mention housing, though there is $45 million earmarked for “measures to be announced” and another $31.1 million for “other” in the capital plan.

On DRIPA, Eby said the legislation that passed unanimously in 2019 has led to some challenges in court, but remains necessary for the province’s prosperity. “There's only one path forward, and that's in partnership with the Indigenous people in this province,” he said.

In the past he has said DRIPA needs to be amended to clarify the province’s intent.

Mines, the second phase of LNG Canada and other projects are able to move ahead “because we have entered into those partnerships that are enabled by this law.”

Doerkson repeated a pledge to repeal DRIPA. “It has not helped British Columbians,” he said. “It has created more division on the landscape than I have ever seen in my life... There has to be a better path forward, and that is through respect and relations and certainly partnerships with First Nations in this province, and I'm absolutely committed to that.”

As for the Greens, Lowan says the party agrees with First Nations leaders who have been unequivocal in saying the work needs to be done to implement DRIPA.

“When we talk about certainty, the uncertainty that has been sown over the last year has been from a premier who can't seem to make up his mind, and it's been from a Conservative party that is constantly pushing misinformation and blatant fear-mongering,” she said.

Lowan stressed that DRIPA has no bearing on private property rights. “We've seen from both parties just a willingness to engage on this bad-faith argument,” she added.

In her closing remarks Lowan said British Columbians are exhausted by the status quo. “I’m exhausted by a party that is constantly bribing you with election promises and failing to deliver. We see that in the NDP. In the Conservatives, we see opacity, an unwillingness to report where the cuts are coming from. This is not good governance.”

The BC Greens would tax extreme wealth over $50 million to fund services like universal child care, free and frequent transit and social housing, she said.

Eby repeated that while he and the government have been imperfect, they have always been committed to fighting for British Columbians.

A re-elected NDP government would rein in excess profits at grocery stores, freeze car insurance rates for three years and crack down on gouging by oil and gas companies. “We're going to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders across the country to build up this country and this province at a crucial time.”

Doerkson talked about 42,000 British Columbians who have lost their jobs in the last two months and the NDP’s failure to better manage the health-care system.

“David Eby called a cynical snap election because he saw an opportunity for himself,” he said. “I see an opportunity for you, and I am absolutely convinced it could be so much better.”

Advance voting opens Friday and final voting day is Oct. 24.