A housing, cost of living, education, and climate platforms summary
Photo via Flickr.
As we anticipate the upcoming provincial election in B.C., students may be wondering how the various party platforms will affect them. Issues like housing, the cost of living, education and social issues, and climate change are important to university-aged students. Here’s what each platform plans to do about those issues.
Housing
BC NDP
Since they formed government in 2017, the BC NDP has addressed housing affordability, in part, through Housing Hub and BC Builds — programs that subsidize developers to build with the intention of offering units at below market rent.
However, some have criticized the success of these programs, after it came to light that many of the units on the lower mainland, Vancouver Island, and B.C.’s interior were being rented at or above market rates. However, the NDP’s federal website maintains that they intend to work with B.C. to increase affordability by supporting more non-profit and co-op housing developments.
BC Greens
BC Greens leader Sonia Furstenau wants changes to the province’s housing market, including the implementation of vacancy control, which would limit how much landlords can increase rent by between tenants, and expanding the Rental Protection Fund to help non-profits that prioritize affordable rent purchase and manage residential buildings.
In a recent press release, the BC Greens announced their housing plan would build 26 000 affordable rental units annually through targeted investments in non-market housing providers and housing cooperatives.
Conservative Party of BC
BC Conservative leader John Rustad says housing is a priority. According to the Conservatives’ website, they plan to stabilize the province’s housing market by “promoting the development of new housing supply while cracking down on illegal money laundering that has inflated prices and facilitated criminal activity.”
In a press release from Sept. 11, Rustad blamed part of the housing crisis on the federal government “forcing B.C. to accept 22,000 asylum seekers without [financial] support,” saying it was “irresponsible, especially during a housing and cost of living crisis.”
Cost of living
BC NDP
Steadily raising minimum wage, making prescription birth control free, and introducing a new Renter’s Tax Credit are some of the recent initiatives the BC NDP championed during their term. The party also froze BC Ferry fare increases to 3.2 per cent annually, and kept BC Hydro rate increases below the rate of inflation.
Conservative Party of BC
The BC Conservatives platform to address the cost of living includes the following items — Ending the “ICBC monopoly,” getting gas prices under control, stabilizing the housing market, and providing more choice in daycare.
By ending the ICBC era, Conservatives say they could provide more inexpensive insurance options for drivers.
BC Greens
The BC Greens want “fast, frequent and free transit.” Furstenau said their plan of providing free public transit province-wide, and doubling the number of city buses within four years, would save families thousands of dollars each year on vehicle and transportation costs.
If passed, this initiative would likely allow universities to cut bus pass expenses from their student fees.
Education and social issues
BC NDP
The NDP federal website states they intend to advocate for the LGBTQ2S+ by adding sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression to the Employment Equity Act. They also promise to “make sure social media platforms are legally responsible for the removal of hateful and extremist content.”
The NDP platform aims to make education more affordable. In 2024/25, the BC NDP government committed to invest $3.5 million in one-time funding to high-demand career programs at 12 public post-secondary institutions, including Camosun College.
The NDP website promises to “cap and reduce tuition fees . . . move away from loans, and permanently double non-repayable Canada Student Grants.” In B.C., the NDP’s Loan Forgiveness Program forgives the B.C. portion of eligible students’ Canada-B.C. integrated loan debt. Students with debt, however, must be employed in eligible sectors at a publicly funded facility in an underserved community or working with children to receive loan forgiveness.
BC Conservatives
The BC Conservatives have made it clear they want to depoliticize education in B.C., stating on their website that “schools must be places of learning — not for activism and indoctrination.”
They vow to protect free speech on campuses by defunding universities and colleges that do not support and defend freedom of expression.
They also plan to reallocate government funding within post-secondary institutions to promote and incentivize training in essential fields such as medicine, engineering, and trades.
BC Greens
The BC Greens’ education platform mainly emphasizes elementary and secondary school objectives, such as a permanent universal school food program, expanding access to school psychologists, social workers, and guidance counselors, and laptops for all middle and high school students.
Climate issues
BC NDP
Premier David Eby recently adopted the Conservatives’ position on the consumer carbon tax, stating that the party would drop the tax “if the federal government decides to remove the legal backstop requiring [it].”
According to the federal NDP website, however, the party is still committed to stabilizing the global temperature rise to 1.5 C. The party also wants to continue supporting Indigenous-led nature conservation and climate planning efforts, by growing the Indigenous Guardians program and prioritizing the restoration of wild Pacific salmon populations in B.C.
BC Conservatives
The BC Conservatives continue to assert that they do not prioritize climate policies over affordability issues, with Rustad stating in an interview with Power and Politics that climate change is “not a crisis [or] existential threat.” The party supports scrapping the province’s current carbon tax, and instead “making infrastructure more resilient to climate-driven extreme weather.” Rustad also recently promised he would review how wildfires are being managed in B.C.
The Conservatives’ website promises to “dramatically expand B.C.’s natural gas production and LNG export facilities,” including the TMX, Coastal GasLink, and Northern Gateway projects.
BC Greens
The BC Greens are now the only one of three main parties that still support keeping the carbon tax. In a statement issued on Sept. 12, Furstenau said the price on carbon pollution should be “transparent and fair” and used to benefit people and communities, instead of “giving sweetheart deals to the oil and gas industry.”
The Greens also propose adopting the Clean Air Act, which is intended to safeguard communities from wildfires through air quality monitoring, expand access to portable air filters for indoor spaces during wildfires, and support prescribed and cultural burning to reduce wildfire intensity.
The party also announced a $100 million investment to create Water Stewardship Councils in every community across the province. The Greens say these councils would “empower communities to take control of their water management,” and “bring together First Nations, farmers, local governments, industry, and environmental groups to collaboratively manage water resources.”
This summary of each parties’ platforms is by no means exhaustive; and there are key issues beyond the ones included here that are important. So, if you’re a UVic student gearing up to vote, make sure you do your own research and watch for B.C. election related news as voting day fast approaches.
