On Tuesday, British Columbia’s three major provincial political party leaders offered sharply different plans to improve the provincial economy to a business community increasingly very concerned about the direction of the province.
BC NDP leader David Eby, Conservative Party of British Columbia leader Lorne Doerkson and Green Party of British Columbia leader Emily Lowan addressed the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT) on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2026, ahead of the provincial general election on Saturday, Oct. 24.
The provincial election will be held just one week before the municipal election on Saturday, Oct. 17.
In a non-debate format, each leader delivered a separate presentation and answered questions about business confidence, taxation, and provincial government finances. Their appearances highlighted major disagreements over how to attract investment and support employers, as well as to address the provincial government’s projected $13.8-billion deficit for the 2026/2027 fiscal year, sustained high annual deficits for the forthcoming fiscal years through at least the end of the decade, and the staggering growth in debt.
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The backdrop was a GVBOT member survey that drew 351 responses. Among respondents, 78 per cent said the provincial economy was on the wrong track, while 95 per cent expressed concern about the province’s finances, including 74 per cent who were very concerned.
Despite repeated questions about fiscal targets, none of the three leaders provided a firm date during the session for returning to a balanced budget.
GVBOT’s forum-like session on Tuesday with the business audience was also held just one day before the 2026 provincial election’s one and only debate among the major party leaders, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
BC NDP’s David Eby: Public investment and affordability measures
BC NDP leader David Eby, Oct. 13, 2026. (Greater Vancouver Board of Trade)
During the GVBOT session, David Eby argued that British Columbia’s economic challenges must be understood in the context of American tariffs, rising gas costs, and global uncertainty.
His response would combine measures to cushion households and businesses from those pressures with provincial government support for investment and construction.
That includes temporarily cutting a portion of the provincial government’s gas and diesel taxes and reducing the profits on basic grocery items, which he argued would help both households and businesses facing higher operating costs.
Eby also highlighted interest-free business loans of up to $1 million for as long as six years to help companies adjust and pursue other markets, along with a proposed $5,000 refundable tax credit for employers giving young people their first job opportunity.
He said provincial purchasing would prioritize B.C. businesses, while provincial Crown corporations would be directed to buy Canadian first.
His new commitments at the event included making the Manufacturing Jobs Fund permanent, with $60 million annually, and working with the federal government to build a new additional shipyard in the province. Eby said the shipyard would help B.C. compete for federal contracts and build future BC Ferries vessels domestically.
He also promised to expand opportunities for food processing on agricultural land.
More broadly, Eby asserted that his administration’s work to date on permitting and partnerships with Indigenous communities was already helping advance major investments. He pointed to what he described as $130 billion in projects reaching final investment decisions over a two-year period, saying about half had already reached that stage. He warned that sweeping policy reversals could disrupt those investments.
“We cannot afford chaos, the mass repeal of policies at a moment when business is reaching final investment decision on $130 billion in projects,” he said.
However, Eby stopped short of permanently abandoning the proposed expansion of the provincial sales tax (PST) to additional services, an issue of particular concern to the business audience. So far, as of September 2026, just prior to the snap provincial election call, the BC NDP has only paused this planned PST expansion into more professional services, including real estate. GVBOT’s survey found that 78 per cent of respondents wanted the expansion cancelled.
Eby said the pause would last through the trade war, with the policy reassessed afterward.
“You will not see this come back for the duration of the trade war, and we will have an evaluation at that point,” he said.
On personal income taxes, Eby defended asking higher earners to contribute more to fund healthcare. He argued that B.C. would remain competitive with other provinces at several income levels, despite higher taxes at the top.
He also accused the Conservatives of making expensive promises without adequately explaining how they would pay for them, warning that the result could be deep public-service cuts.
Asked why he needed a snap provincial election to pursue his plans, particularly overlapping with the municipal election campaign period, Eby argued that the BC NDP’s narrow legislative margin had made it difficult to move quickly and pass legislation.
“It’s a wildly frustrating experience not to be able to know what British Columbians need and want you to do, and have a legislature that’s not able to deliver that. And so I’m asking for a clear mandate to be able to take these actions to deliver for British Columbians,” said the premier.
Conservative’s Lorne Doerkson: Lower taxes and faster project approvals
Conservative Party of British Columbia leader Lorne Doerkson, Oct. 13, 2026. (Greater Vancouver Board of Trade)
Loerne Doerkson argued that provincial taxes, regulatory requirements, and slow approvals were holding back employers and investment. Drawing on his own business experience, he said the provincial government needed to make it easier for companies to expand, hire, and compete.
“Our approach is straightforward. Lower taxes in this province, less red tape, faster approvals and responsible development,” said Doerkson.
Unlike Eby, Doerkson committed to permanently cancelling the BC NDP’s planned PST expansion.
He also reiterated the Conservative’s separate promise to remove the seven per cent PST from qualifying business purchases of machinery, tools, and software for three years. He argued that reducing the cost of those investments would encourage businesses to modernize and grow.
For major capital projects worth more than $250 million, the Conservatives would establish a 120-day approval timeline framework.
Doerkson also promised legislation requiring the provincial government to eliminate two existing regulations for every new one introduced.
He said transportation bottlenecks, including those at the George Massey Tunnel, needed much greater attention. To date, his party has criticized the BC NDP’s previous cancellation of the 10-lane bridge project, which would have been built at a far lower cost to address the existing tunnel’s seismic and congestion issues, and been ready for a 2022 opening. The BC NDP are pushing ahead with an $8.5-billion, eight-lane immersed tunnel.
Natural gas development would be another major focus. Doerkson said a Conservative government would work to double B.C.’s production, while helping ensure that proposed projects could access pipelines, electricity, and transmission infrastructure.
He argued that the provincial government’s role was to create the conditions for private investment, rather than use public money to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities.
To attract investment more broadly, he proposed hosting an international business summit in Vancouver in 2027.
However, Doerkson faced questions about how his party’s proposed tax reductions — particularly the $1,000 annual income tax cut — would fit alongside the provincial government’s large deficit. Some have put the Conservatives’ proposed increase to the basic personal income tax exemption at an estimated annual cost of between $3 billion and $4 billion, and asked whether spending cuts would be necessary.
Doerkson asserted the revenue that could come from a growing economy, along with reductions in bureaucracy and regulatory burdens. He repeatedly promised to fully fund healthcare.
“We have to better understand the books before we could commit to a date on actually getting back to balanced budgets,” he said.
When asked about the Conservatives’ readiness to govern following months of internal party battles and discontent, Doerkson pointed to the experience of his candidates and caucus, including members with small business backgrounds.
He also promised meaningful partnerships with First Nations, while criticizing the BC NDP’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act as failing to overcome divisions.
“Moving forward on a respectful path of partnership is exactly what we need in British Columbia,” he said.
BC Greens’ Emily Lowan: Local businesses, green industries, and a wealth tax
BC Greens leader Emily Lowan, Oct. 13, 2026. (Greater Vancouver Board of Trade)
Emily Lowan, who is 26 years old, challenged the emphasis both other leaders placed on major resource projects, arguing that the provincial government should focus more on who benefits from economic development.
Introducing herself as a renter and former grocery cashier, she suggested that investment announcements and economic growth figures mean little to people who cannot afford housing or find secure employment.
Her pitch centred on keeping more economic benefits within British Columbia through locally owned businesses, stronger worker protections, and investment in green industries.
She asserted that the provincial government has paid too much attention to natural resource investments and too little to who owns the projects, how many lasting jobs they create, and how much wealth remains in the province.
“I want to build an industry that is by and for British Columbians, and we just don’t see that with the LNG sector,” she said.
“LNG Canada is a multinational, foreign-owned consortium, and I want to see our public tax dollars go towards BC businesses.”
For small businesses, Lowan proposed province-wide commercial rent protections and allowing municipal governments to tax vacant storefronts. She argued that sudden rent increases and the high cost of living were making it harder for businesses to remain in their communities and retain employees.
She also identified universal childcare and a green industrial strategy, supported by targeted public investment, as priorities.
To finance those commitments and address the deficit, Lowan pointed to a combination of high taxes on the ultrawealthy and changes to resource royalties.
She said the combined plan would generate tens of billions of dollars in its first year and billions more annually afterward. The wealth tax component would target approximately 2,000 people, she asserted, beginning with a larger one-time levy followed by lower ongoing annual taxes.
Lowan said the initial measure would apply retroactively to the tax year to discourage people from shifting wealth to avoid it.
Challenged about countries that had abandoned wealth taxes, she defended the proposal’s design and argued that it could help reduce the deficit while providing lasting revenue for public services.
Her broader argument was that economic policy should be judged by whether British Columbians can build stable, affordable lives and share in the benefits of growth.
“Workers should share in the prosperity they help create. And when we make decisions about land, resources and public money, we should be thinking about what we’re leaving behind for future generations. And when we make decisions about land, resources and public money, we should be thinking about what we’re leaving behind for future generations,” she said.
“The BC Greens have been always willing to question the economic and political systems which benefit the few at the cost of the many. In a time of profound economic uncertainty, these questions are more critical than ever.”
- You might also like:
- Lorne Doerkson's B.C. Conservatives promise $1,000 annual income tax cut by raising tax-free amount
- Emily Lowan's BC Greens propose wealth taxes of up to 20% on fortunes exceeding $50 million
- How David Eby plans to slash gas prices in B.C. by up to 30 cents
- Here's how David Eby plans to lower grocery prices in B.C.
- David Eby's BC NDP promise interest free loans and a new tax credit for businesses
- David Eby's NDP pledges new shipyard to build BC Ferries vessels locally
- Opinion: David Eby's BC NDP needs a better reason than Trump for a snap election