Key questions B.C. voters should ask during this provincial election campaign

New Frontier Centre for Public Policy Blueprint raises eight key questions for B.C. voters ahead of the Oct. 24 election

WINNIPEG — A $13.8-billion deficit, seven-month health-care waits, unaffordable housing and lost forestry jobs are among the issues facing British Columbians ahead of the Oct. 24 provincial election.

Frontier Blueprint: British Columbia 2026, a new Blueprint Brief from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, highlights policy issues facing British Columbians. It examines those issues and sets out policy ideas for the province’s economy, public services and governance. Drawing on the Brief, here are eight questions voters should be asking candidates during the campaign.

How would you balance B.C.’s budget and deal with the province’s growing debt?

B.C. is forecasting a $13.8-billion deficit for 2026-27, with spending expected to reach $100.1 billion. Operating expenses have grown 39 per cent since 2021-22, compared with revenue growth of 18 per cent. Debt interest costs alone will reach $6.4 billion, or about $1,127 for every British Columbian, money that cannot be spent on services British Columbians need.

What changes, if any, would you make to taxes on B.C. families and businesses?

B.C.’s top provincial personal income-tax rate is 20.5 per cent, bringing the combined federal-provincial marginal rate to 53.5 per cent. The lowest provincial rate has increased from 5.06 per cent to 5.6 per cent, while income-tax brackets will not be adjusted for inflation from 2027 through 2030. A proposed expansion of the provincial sales tax to several professional services has been temporarily paused but remains on the books and would raise more than $500 million annually once fully implemented. Together, those tax decisions affect how much British Columbians keep from their pay and what they pay for goods and services.

What would you do to make housing more affordable in B.C.?

The median Vancouver house costs 10.8 times the median household income, while Kelowna, Chilliwack and other B.C. markets also face affordability pressures. Development cost charges in Vancouver and Surrey can exceed $100,000 on a single housing unit. For younger and middle-income British Columbians in particular, high housing costs can put homeownership and the chance to build a future in their own community out of reach.

What would you do to reduce health-care wait times in B.C.?

The median wait from referral by a family doctor to treatment in B.C. was 32.2 weeks in 2025, compared with 19.2 weeks in Ontario. Access is also a problem in some rural communities, where emergency rooms have closed temporarily because of staffing shortages. For people waiting for medical care, 32.2 weeks means a median wait of more than seven months between referral and treatment, with the risk that their condition could worsen while they wait.

How should B.C. protect private property owners when Aboriginal title claims affect their land?

The B.C. Supreme Court decision involving the Cowichan Tribes recognized Aboriginal title over a claim area in Richmond that includes about 125 privately held parcels. The court held that Aboriginal title coexists with and takes priority over other property interests in the claim area, while declaring titles held there by Canada and the City of Richmond defective and invalid. For property owners, the issue is what recognition of Aboriginal title could mean for their ability to sell or finance their property and protect its value.

What would you do to improve student results in B.C. schools?

B.C.’s 15-year-olds scored an average of 538 in mathematics on the OECD’s PISA tests in 2003. By 2022, the score had fallen to 496, a 42-point decline, while reading scores fell 24 points over the same period.

What would you do to attract more forestry, natural gas, LNG, pipeline and other resource investment to B.C.?

Since 2023, 21 B.C. mills have closed permanently or indefinitely, while roughly 15,000 forestry jobs have been lost since 2022. The annual timber harvest in 2024 and 2025 was nearly 32 million cubic metres, compared with the government’s target of 45 million. B.C. also sits between Western Canada’s large oil and natural gas resources and Pacific markets. For families in resource-dependent communities, investment decisions can determine whether good jobs remain available and whether they can continue to build their lives there.

What role should competition and the private sector play in services now provided by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) and BC Hydro?

ICBC is one of only three public monopoly automobile insurers in Canada. BC Hydro dominates electricity generation and distribution in B.C. and has limited the amount of new electricity available to data centres. Its first allocation process attracted applications for almost twice the power available over two years. The utility was also a net electricity importer in fiscal 2024, buying about 22 per cent of its supply at a cost of nearly $1.4 billion.

“British Columbia has enormous advantages, including natural resources, access to Pacific markets, an educated population and some of the best economic opportunities in Canada,” said David Leis, president and CEO of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. “But those advantages cannot overcome public policies that discourage investment, restrict housing supply and allow government spending and debt to grow faster than the economy. This election gives British Columbians an opportunity to ask candidates how they intend to change that direction.”

The Blueprint Brief sets out specific recommendations in each of these areas.

On government finances, it recommends limiting program spending growth to population growth plus inflation, balancing the budget within one government term, ending corporate subsidies and reducing the size of the public service through attrition.

Its tax recommendations include resuming annual inflation adjustments to income-tax brackets, reversing the increase in the lowest provincial income-tax rate, repealing the proposed expansion of the provincial sales tax to professional services, beginning to reduce the top personal income-tax rate and phasing out the Employer Health Tax.

On housing, it recommends making more land available, allowing housing to be built on serviced land without requiring individual municipal approval and eliminating development cost charges. On health care, it proposes changing how hospitals are funded and contracting publicly funded procedures to private clinics.

Its education proposals include standardized testing and changes intended to expand school choice. On property rights, it recommends legislation to protect registered fee simple title and to require the Crown to bear the cost when Aboriginal title burdens privately owned land.

For resource development, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy recommends changes to forestry policy, including removing the federal oil tanker ban, attracting more natural gas, LNG and pipeline investment, and limiting regulatory reviews of resource projects to two years.

The blueprint also proposes opening more government services to competition, including ending ICBC’s monopoly on compulsory basic automobile insurance and allowing greater competition in electricity generation. Its recommendations also address addiction and crime, labour law, Crown corporations and major infrastructure.

About the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

Founded in Winnipeg in 1997, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy is an independent, nonpartisan Canadian think tank focused on economic growth, responsible citizenship, good governance and public-sector reform. It does not accept government funding.

Media contact:

David Leis
President and CEO
Frontier Centre for Public Policy
[email protected]

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