Heading to the polls: Your guide to the 2024 B.C. election

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With just a few days until voters hit the polls, the 2024 British Columbia provincial election is a tight race between the Conservative Party of BC and BC New Democratic Party, with the BC Greens trailing behind. 

On Oct. 19, voters will decide which government will tackle key issues in the province like affordability, housing, the toxic drug crisis, health care, reconciliation, climate change, and more. Here is a broad overview of the parties’ platforms on these topics. 

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THE PARTIES

BC NDP under the leadership of Premier David Eby

On affordability, the NDP says its proposed middle-class income tax cut will benefit over 90 per cent of the population, offering up to $500 for individuals or $1,000 per household. If re-elected, first-time home buyers will pay 60 per cent of the initial house cost, with the other 40 per cent due when they go sell or after 25 years. 

Housing measures also include cutting red tape for municipalities to allow more rental units to be built through property tax cuts and encouraging development around transit hubs. The NDP would also increase support for non-market housing and says it will crack down on home flipping through an expanded speculation tax. 

Climate actions include targeting oil and gas companies for methane reduction and doubling public EV charging stations. The province will also plant 300 million trees annually and has committed to getting rid of the carbon tax if the federal government does away with it. 

In terms of health care, the NDP says it will continue ensuring every resident registered on the Health Connect registry is connected to a doctor or nurse practitioner by 2025, recruit more foreign-trained doctors, and expand pharmacists’ role in prescribing. 

A $50 million fund will also be put toward mental health and addiction treatment. A new treatment centre will be initiated for construction workers, and the party says it will also strengthen recovery homes and First Nations treatment centres.

Efforts toward reconciliation will continue through the Declaration Act Action Plan, along with working to advance Indigenous education and training opportunities as well as First Nations languages and cultural heritage. The NDP is also committing to build more homes for First Nations communities. 

 

Conservative Party of BC under the leadership of John Rustad

If elected, the BC Conservatives say they will implement their rebate plan that would exempt $1,500 per month from provincial income taxes for renters and homeowners by 2026, increasing annually until it reaches $3,000. 

Additionally, the party will repeal Bill 44, which allows single-family housing to be converted to multi-family ones. Instead, the party will initiate a $1 billion fund each year for a decade to build housing in eligible municipalities. 

Rustad was removed from the BC Liberal Party — now BC United — in 2022 after making comments denying climate change on social media. 

The BC Conservative platform will reduce red tape for the mining industry, support the expansion of liquified natural gas production, and look to bring nuclear power to the province. 

The party also says it will reverse the NDP’s decision to ban natural gas heating and sales of new non-electric vehicles by 2030 and is committed to getting rid of the carbon tax, if the federal government drops the requirement. 

To address the toxic drug crisis, the BC Conservatives will implement involuntary care facilities, as well as a complete end to safe supply sites and the drug decriminalization pilot. There will be a focus on anti-drug education programs and preventing drugs from entering the province. 

The BC Conservative reconciliation plan is focused on a model of economic reconciliation with Indigenous communities and includes loan guarantees for First Nations to participate in resource projects. The party will use the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as a guiding document, and pledges to return 20 per cent of B.C.’s forests to Indigenous people. 

As for health care, the party says patients will have the option to seek care out-of-province and be reimbursed, and expand private clinics to address wait times. It will also hire back health workers who were let go over vaccination mandates during the pandemic. 

 

BC Greens under the leadership of Sonia Furstenau

The BC Greens plan to implement a free public transit system in B.C. that will ensure hourly service on key routes and double the number of buses in four years. 

The party will also expand the B.C. Access Grant to graduate students, as well as loan forgiveness to in-demand professions and underserved communities through StudentAid BC.

On housing, vacancy control measures will come in to prevent large rental price increases after tenancies end. There will also be an investment of $1.5 billion annually to build 26,000 new non-market housing units per year, including 3,000 units for Indigenous Peoples, and a $650 million investment in infrastructure funding to municipalities.

The Greens say they will allow the 10-year-old environmental certificate for the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline to expire, halt new fracking wells and gas projects, phase out gas production, and increase the industrial carbon tax to fund community climate action.

As for the toxic drug crisis, the Greens say they will expand access to supervised consumption services and mandate safe spaces in hospitals for substance use. They also plan to require age-appropriate drug education in schools. 

Indigenous reconciliation under the Greens will recognize Indigenous governments as self-determining governments, provide them with stable funding, and support the use of Indigenous languages on government identification. 

The Greens say they will establish community health centres in all 93 ridings. They also plan to make vaccines free, ban tobacco sales in pharmacies, and integrate mental health as a fourth option in 911 emergency services. 

 

Independents 

The breakdown of the BC United party has left the province with a record number of candidates running as independents. There are now 41 independent candidates running in the 2024 election, in contrast to 24 in the 2020 election. Independent candidates do not have the backing of a political party, instead they must seek campaign funding for themselves and cannot use any signage associated with a party. 

 

Freedom Party of BC under the leadership of Amrit Birring

The Freedom Party of BC is running on a platform to eliminate SOGI 123, critical race theory, and land acknowledgments in K-12 schools. 

It says it will work to end foreign buying of B.C. housing and agriculture land. The party is also running on a platform that claims climate change is a “hoax” and will expand industry use of natural resources. 

Other parties running a few candidates in the election are the BC Libertarian Party, the Communist Party of BC, and the Christian Heritage Party of BC. 

Here is a breakdown of the candidates running in each of Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s campus ridings and their specific goals.

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THE RIDINGS

Surrey-Newton 

Surrey-Newton has been under B.C. Labour Minister and NDP MLA Harry Bains’s leadership since 2005. Earlier this year, Bains announced he will not be seeking re-election to focus on family and make way for younger politicians. This year, five candidates are running in the riding, which is one of the most populous in Surrey with over 62,000 residents.

 

• Jessie Sunner — BC NDP

Sunner had never really thought about pursuing a political career when she was fighting for workers’ rights as a labour and human rights lawyer for the Hospital Employees Union. But when she saw women of colour unfairly losing their jobs under the previous BC Liberal government, she decided to enter the race.

Fair wages, working conditions, and advocating against discrimination made Sunner realize the value of “having the government on your side.”

More than 8,500 workers from the Hospital Employees Union were fired during the previous Liberal government’s leadership after it made severe cuts to the health-care system, Sunner told The Runner.

“Collective agreements were ripped up overnight, wages were cut in half, benefits were lost. Seeing that and working for the union, I knew how unfair that was,” Sunner said.

Racialized women, who made up a majority of jobs in health care, lost their jobs in an undemocratic way, Sunner said, which led her to put her name forward to join the NDP.

“I knew that was work that was really important and it needed to continue, and I could provide a voice in that,” she said. “I’m very connected to Surrey.”

Sunner is also the vice-president of the Surrey Women’s Centre and on the boards of the South Asian Bar Association of B.C., the BC Canadian Bar Association Human Rights Law Section, the BC College of Social Workers, and previously the Surrey Police Board and the United Nations Association in Canada.

 

• Tegjot Bal — Conservative Party of BC 

Bal is advocating for expanding child care to offer direct financial support for new parents, introducing diverse insurance options, stabilizing the housing market, and

eliminating the carbon tax and the low carbon fuel standard, his candidacy webpage reads.

Bal is a senior marketing executive and radio host at Radio Punjab AM1600. He was previously a member of the British Columbia Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU) to advocate for workers’ rights and well-being.

In his work and community engagement, Bal hopes to address drug-related concerns and push youth towards sports and academics. His policy priorities also include “addressing ICBC monopoly” and introducing competition in the market.

 

• Japreet Lehal — Unaffiliated 

Former BC United’s Japreet Lehal, now running as an independent, told The Runner he feels free to express his “evidence-based solutions” as an unaffiliated candidate. Holding liberal values, Lehal said he can advocate for social justice, equality, and increasing public services based on progressive policies. 

Lehal, born and raised in Surrey, is a political science graduate from Simon Fraser University (SFU) and now works as a lawyer. He also graduated with a juris doctor (JD) degree from Thompson Rivers University’s faculty of law. 

If elected, Lehal hopes to address housing affordability, crime and public safety, and health care in Surrey-Newton.

“I would address those, in addition to all the other things that we need to address as part of a healthy society, which is climate action, the economy, education, social justice, electoral reform, Indigenous rights, and defending our democracy.”

Lehal said some solutions could be building new hospitals and ensuring they have adequate staffing and resources. He would also push for a doctor loan forgiveness program to help “alleviate the burdens with the health-care system.”

He said students should vote for him because he is going to advocate for services that residents deserve. He also plans to push for free post-secondary education for university students so they can focus on their studies and invest instead of being burdened with debt.

 

• Amrit Birring — Freedom Party of BC 

Amrit Birring wants affordable housing for everyone — including students.

“Generally, the government doesn’t care …. They waste so much stuff. Every project is over budget. They need to allocate money where it is appropriate,” he told The Runner.

Birring is also advocating for lower taxes and said students shouldn’t have to worry about housing or paying rent while studying.

Birring is a software engineer, grew up in India, and moved to Singapore for work. He realized that “something was very wrong” in India due to rampant corruption by the government, and said he never was comfortable and “always felt choked.” 

In 1996, he moved to Canada and went to the University of British Columbia for a degree in computer science. In 2022, Birring ran for Surrey mayor as part of the People’s Council Surrey and for member of Parliament during the 2021 federal elections.

“Governments are getting corrupt, doing all the wrong practices, which we escaped from, and I have a very strong urge to do something,” he said. 

 

• Joginder Singh Randhawa — Independent

The Runner could not find information about Randhawa online at the time of publication.

 

Surrey-Cloverdale 

The Surrey-Cloverdale riding is a hot seat in this election. The riding had been a BC Liberal stronghold for more than a decade until the BC NDP flipped the seat in the 2020 election. Surrey-Cloverdale was previously held by BC United Leader Kevin Falcon for 12 years and later Stephanie Cadieux.

With the creation of the new Surrey-Serpentine River riding, the borders of Surrey-Cloverdale have decreased to encompass the city’s growing population. Four candidates are seeking election in this riding.

 

• Mike Starchuk — BC NDP

Starchuk has lived in Surrey for over 50 years and is the incumbent Surrey-Cloverdale MLA. He was first elected in the 2020 provincial election, taking home 52 per cent of the vote. 

Prior to becoming an MLA, Starchuk was a firefighter for 32 years and was elected as a Surrey city councilor in 2014, serving for four years, his website reads. He ended his firefighting career as the chief fire prevention officer for Surrey.

Starchuk also worked with the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, advocating on behalf of firefighters diagnosed with work-related cancers and occupational injuries and their families, and was made an honorary member after he retired. He is also one of the founding directors of Surrey Fire Fighters Charitable Society.

Starchuk “is dedicated to making life better — by building hospitals, by investing in public transit, and by building homes for people,” his candidacy webpage reads.

 

• Elenore Sturko — Conservative Party of BC

Sturko became MLA for South Surrey in 2022 when she won a byelection with BC United. She replaced former elected BC Liberal Stephanie Cadieux, who besides serving South Surrey and Surrey-Cloverdale was also an MLA for Surrey-Panorama.

Prior to running for provincial office, Sturko served in the Canadian Armed Forces and later was an RCMP officer. Sturko was the opposition critic for education, and for mental health, addictions and recovery. In June, she defected to the BC Conservatives, becoming the party’s fourth MLA.

One of Sturko’s concerns is the Cloverdale hospital proposed behind KPU’s Cloverdale campus. 

“I’ve been somewhat critical of the Cloverdale hospital, not because I’m not in agreement that we need to increase health care, but because I don’t believe that the current plan actually addresses the needs of the community,” Sturko told The Runner. 

The proposed hospital has 168 beds, and does not include a pediatric or maternity ward. The city’s only other hospital, Surrey Memorial, has one of the busiest pediatric emergency rooms in the province.

Regarding student-specific issues, Sturko said, “50 per cent of young people feel that they might have to leave British Columbia because they won’t be able to afford a place to live.”

“The reality is, we need young people to stay here because innovation, being a part of the workforce, being a part of our community’s fabric is extremely important.”

 

• Pat McCutcheon — BC Greens

McCutcheon has lived and raised his family in Cloverdale for over 30 years. He owns an engineering consulting firm in the Lower Mainland and volunteers with local non-profits focused on combating climate change, his candidacy webpage reads.

“There has been a serious disintegration of basic social services like health care, public education, … housing affordability, cost of living, homelessness, the toxic drug crisis, and, of course, climate change,” he told The Runner.

This is the first time McCutcheon has ever run for any political office.

“Climate change is taking a bigger and bigger toll with each passing year that we continue to ignore it,” McCutcheon said. “That’s actually the main reason that I’m running with the BC Greens. They’re the only party that takes climate change seriously, as well as a lot of the other issues.”

McCutcheon said the BC Greens will support students by increasing grant levels through systems including the B.C. Access Grant and StudentAid BC.

“We want to increase that so it targets professions that are in high demand and also jurisdictions around the province which are experiencing a deficit in certain professions,” McCutcheon said.

 

• Judy Meilleur — Freedom Party of BC

Meilleur is a professional in the health and wellness industry, her candidacy webpage reads. She is studying and researching “immunology and infectious diseases and the importance of supplementation,” according to her webpage.

Meilleur is passionate about teaching others about the benefits of holistic well-being. She “strongly believes in indoctrination-free education for our children” and wants to help create a healthy, fair, and safe community. 

 

Surrey City Centre

The Surrey City Centre electoral district was created under the 2021 B.C. electoral redistribution, which changed the area, boundaries, and names of the province’s provincial electoral districts to ensure each MLA represents a similar number of people. The 2024 provincial elections is the first time the Surrey City Centre riding has been contested. 

 

• Amna Shah — BC NDP 

Shah has lived in Surrey for almost 20 years and is guided by her values of compassion, public service, and standing up for her community, her candidacy webpage reads. One of Shah’s main concerns in B.C. is housing, which led her to work with the province’s Ministry of Housing. During this time, she helped move affordable housing policies and projects forward, many of which are now in effect, according to the webpage. 

She was also a volunteer for the Surrey Food Bank due to her belief that “no family should be left behind without enough to eat,” the webpage reads. Today, she serves on the food bank’s board of directors where she has helped to expand distribution services in Surrey. Shah’s focus is on issues that matter most to Surrey residents, including transit, education, health care, and safety.

 

• Zeeshan Wahla — Conservative Party of BC 

Surrey has been home to Wahla ever since he first came to Canada in 2007, his candidacy webpage reads. He is a professional engineer and has experience running an engineering consulting business. Through his educational and professional experiences, Wahla has gained insight into the socio-economic challenges individuals face.   

He has spent more than a decade actively engaging in the Surrey community and is dedicated to serve both the people of Surrey City Centre and British Columbians as a whole. Wahla also recognizes the barriers and hardships citizens are facing as a result of “current government policies, rules, and regulations,” according to the webpage. 

Wahla told The Runner he is running in the provincial election to help address issues affecting the future of children, including drugs, crime, safety, and affordability. He wants to fix the education system by building more schools, hiring more teachers, and removing ideology. 

“We want to protect all our kids, whichever ideology they belong to. We love them, we take care of them, and parents should have consent.” 

He also wants to reduce construction costs by cutting red tape and improving building codes, tackle the health-care crisis by expanding hospitals in Surrey, stop the NDP’s safe supply drug program, and address homelessness by building shelters for recovery. 

In terms of student-specific problems, Wahla said there aren’t enough seats in universities for domestic students, which he aims to change. He also wants to help create more jobs in the private sector so students can find work once they graduate.  

“We want to promote our private sector because it is [made of] small business owners and all these companies — they are the backbone of the economy. They are the ones paying taxes, so that’s where we want to invest more and help those businesses grow.” 

 

• Colin Boyd — BC Greens 

Boyd is a lifelong Surrey resident who makes data-driven decisions with his education in mathematics and business analytics, his candidacy webpage reads. He is committed to environmental protection and connected to the community through his work and advocacy, including helping Surrey residents implement energy-efficient solutions in their homes. 

Boyd also helped ensure local services were maintained throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the webpage. As a candidate for provincial office, Boyd’s focus is on issues relating to housing affordability, health-care access, and sustainability. 

“His dedication to transparency, collaboration, and community-centred policies makes him a strong advocate for Surrey and British Columbia as a whole,” the webpage reads. 

 

• Saeed Naguib — Independent 

Naguib is running in this year’s provincial elections because he believes better solutions need to be found to address B.C.’s issues, according to his candidacy webpage. 

Surrey is often treated as an afterthought, a place for housing stock, and Vancouver’s overflow, the webpage reads, while Naguib sees the city as walkable, small-business friendly, transit-connected, and green. He plans to increase taxes for mining companies and use the funds to invest in health care and public, subsidized housing. 

“As an independent candidate, I am free from party politics and focused solely on what’s best for Surrey and for British Columbia,” the webpage reads. 

 

• Ryan Abbott — Communist Party of BC 

Abbott is an industrial painter and sandblaster who is active in his local union, church, and the Communist Party, the Surrey Now-Leader reported. Abbott believes socialism, “a world without poverty and war, where working people democratically own and control the economy,” is the future and capitalism is killing the planet. 

The Communist Party fights to improve health care, the housing crisis, public education, democratic rights, and equity for women and 2SLGBTQIA+ people, Abbott stated. His top three priority issues are to end housing speculation, expand public health care, and remove corporate tax breaks.

 
Langley-Willowbrook 

Langley-Willowbrook is another new electoral district created under the 2021 B.C. electoral redistribution. This is the first provincial election the riding has been contested. 

 

• Andrew Mercier — BC NDP

Mercier is the current NDP MLA for Langley and was elected for the first time in the 2020 provincial general election. He served as parliamentary secretary for skills training before B.C. Premier David Eby appointed him to the cabinet in 2022 as a minister of state for workforce development.

Since January, Mercier has served as the minister of state for sustainable forestry innovation to support Forests Minister Bruce Ralston, in which he facilitates the growth of B.C.’s bioeconomy through partnerships, creates and protects jobs in the forestry sector, and works with the minister of forests and minister of Indigenous relations and reconciliation to promote work withFirst Nations among others, the mandate letter reads.

Mercier’s focus as MLA is to reduce the cost of living and put more money in peoples’ pockets, his campaign webpage reads. He aims to build and open up more housing, invest in child care, and strengthen the health-care system. 

 

• Jody Toor — Conservative Party of BC

Toor was inspired to run for MLA because of her two daughters and future generations, she said in a video posted to her Facebook. She holds a double PhD in integrative medicine and doctor of humanitarian services with the Board of Integrative Medicine.

With her background in health care, Toor is committed to “advocating for comprehensive health-care policies that prioritize prevention, early detection, and holistic approaches to wellness,” her candidacy webpage reads. As a breast cancer survivor, Toor’s experience has reinforced her belief and support for “the interconnectedness of health, social justice, and community support.” 

 

• Petrina Arnason — BC Greens

Arnason is a former two-term Langley Township councillor. During her time on council, Arnason worked with the community on public-serving initiatives related to tree canopy preservation, enhancing green space, advocating for critical housing infrastructure, and advancing the interests of seniors, the Township of Langley’s website reads.

Arnason brought forward a climate action emergency motion and contributed to developing comprehensive climate action strategies. Arnason’s advocacy includes enhancing environmental protection, increasing access to affordable housing, supporting seniors, expanding transportation, and strengthening infrastructure with additional schools and hospitals, her candidacy webpage reads. 

 

Richmond Centre

Richmond Centre was among the renamed and redrawn ridings since the last provincial election. Previously called Richmond South Centre, the electoral district lost areas west of Gilbert Road and south of Blundell Road to the Richmond-Steveston riding.

 

• Henry Yao — BC NDP

Yao, an NDP MLA who was first elected in 2020, last represented the riding and is running for re-election. Born in Taiwan, Yao moved to Richmond when he was young and is fluent in both English and Mandarin.

He has more than a decade of experience as a community volunteer working with young people, and has been involved with the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the Richmond Chinese Community Society. Yao is the co-founder of the Dialogue Richmond Society, a non-profit focused on promoting safe, respectful, and constructive dialogues on difficult community topics, according to a BC NDP press release.

Yao believes Richmond is a great place to live and raise a family, and that more can be done to help people to thrive there, he said in the press release.

“Our BC NDP team is taking action to ease everyday costs with car insurance savings, BC Hydro rebates, and child care savings, improve health care, take on housing speculators and build homes people can afford,” he added.

 

• Hon Chan — Conservative Party of BC

Chan has more than a decade of experience as a news anchor, assignment editor, and talk show host for Fairchild TV, a nationwide Chinese television network. He’s spent most of his life in Richmond and has volunteered in the city’s hospital to translate its volunteer introductory handbook into Chinese so new immigrants and others in the community can better access it, his candidacy webpage reports.

He has also been on advisory committees for the City of Richmond and his building’s strata council. As a journalist, Chan has reported on issues including drug addiction, homelessness, the economy, health, infrastructure expansion, and immigration.

“He has consistently held the government accountable, challenged leaders at all three levels of government, and brought controversial policies to public attention,” his candidacy webpage reads. “Now, instead of questioning the government from the newsroom, Hon is stepping forward to represent the voices of Richmondites in Victoria.”

 

• Wendy Yuan — Unaffiliated

Originally interested in running as a BC United candidate, Yuan is running an unaffiliated campaign since the party dropped out of the race. She has run as a Liberal Party candidate for both the 2008 and 2011 federal elections.

She immigrated to Canada as an international student 40 years ago, and, by 1988, she and her husband founded a computer wholesale company. They moved to Richmond in 1994 and acquired a venture capital company, according to her campaign website.

She has a background in community leadership focusing on issues including immigrant settlement, economic development, and education. The Canadian Red Cross, Vancouver Multicultural Society, Richmond Sunset Rotary Club, and Vancouver Sunshine Lions Club, which she is the charter president for, are among the organizations she has contributed to, her campaign reports.

She told CBC News that voters are looking for a “middle of the road” candidate who is centrist.

“The biggest issue in this riding is decriminalization of drugs, and also equally as important is the unaffordability of housing, so these two issues are my top priorities,” Yuan said to CBC News.

 

• Dickens Cheung — Independent

Cheung has worked as a manager and consultant in the natural health products industry for 15 years, has lived in Richmond Centre for more than a decade, and speaks English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, his campaign website reports.

Protests earlier this year at city hall against a motion to consider adding a safe consumption site in Richmond and backlash against the now suspended Cambie Permanent Supportive Housing Project prompted Cheung to enter B.C. politics, his campaign reports.

Terminating the safe supply drug policy, making only Canadian citizens and permanent residents entitled to universal health care, increasing natural gas production, increasing the limit on small business income to $1,500,000 from $500,000, increasing law enforcement funding, and supporting rent-to-own programs are among the policy interests listed in his campaign.

 

• Sunny Ho — Independent

Ho is a businessman whose top priorities include “no drugs,” “no supportive housing for drug takers,” “50 more RCMPs,” “15,000 affordable homes,” and “fighting for building up senior affordable homes in Cambie site,” which he outlined in a questionnaire provided by Richmond News.

He does not approve of the carbon tax, but does support Bill 44/47 to grow density in residential areas and near rapid transit, Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, lowering taxes for businesses, and the province doing more to protect businesses from vandalism and other crimes, he answered in Richmond News’ questionnaire.

He also supports compensation for health-care workers who lost their jobs for not being vaccinated and involuntary care for people with severe substance-use disorders. Ho doesn’t support a safe drug consumption site in Richmond, but does believe the province should create more subsidized housing to address the housing crisis, Richmond News reported.

For more information about the B.C. elections, visit www.elections.bc.ca.