Day 2 of B.C. election campaign sees Conservatives and NDP focus on Metro Vancouver

B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad, speaks during a news conference to kick off his campaign in Vancouver, B.C., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

The two top contenders in British Columbia's provincial election dove deep into the various issues plaguing the Metro Vancouver area on Sunday, in some cases hearing directly from those most affected.

NDP Leader David Eby listened to an account of the housing supply pressures squeezing the province from an 82-year-old man who was forced out of his apartment by a $1,250 monthly rent increase.

Frank Riley told Eby that B.C. needs more housing for people, including seniors, the disabled and the poor.

"What's important to me is that we build a community that's welcoming to all," Riley said. "In order to do that we have to have facilities to be able to look after people who have medical difficulties, mental difficulties. Low-cost housing for people that don't have the money to be able to handle things, as well as bringing in the people who have the knowledge to be able to do these things."

Eby and B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad zeroed in on the challenges facing Metro Vancouver communities on the second official day of campaigning.

Rustad will be in Surrey, while Eby, focusing on housing, is making stops in North Vancouver, Port Moody, Coquitlam and Langley.

Riley said he and his wife were previously living in a two-bedroom apartment in Burnaby, paying $1,050 per month in rent, but the building sold and the rent soared to $2,300 a month.

"I don't make that much pension, so we ended up scrambling," he said.

Riley, who took Eby on a brief tour of his new neighbourhood, said he now lives in an affordable rental housing development in Port Moody called The Springs, jointly owned with the St. Andrews Housing Society and operated by Catalyst Community Developments.

The Springs, built on the site of the existing Inlet United Church, was announced in 2017 by the former B.C. Liberal government. Construction under the NDP government started in 2019 and the 55-unit project was completed in 2022.

The NDP has provided additional funding to keep rents affordable.

Riley said he now pays $1,501 a month for a one-bedroom apartment at The Springs, which he calls fair.

He said he is currently undecided in how he will vote next month.

"I've voted mostly NDP, to be truthful," said Riley. "I was an old worker from way back with Telus."

Eby said he heard Riley's concerns and it further cemented his commitment to build more affordable housing for people in B.C.

"I think that Frank's perspective is one that's pretty broadly shared, that the provincial government should be working really hard to ensure people who are struggling to get housing for different reasons are supported," he said at a campaign stop in Langley.

Eby said while he is working with non-profit groups, municipal governments and other organizations to build more rental properties and affordable housing developments, Rustad has other plans.

"The weird thing is that John Rustad thinks that shouldn't happen. That there's no role for the provincial government," said Eby. "I just couldn't disagree more with that."

Rustad said in an interview Sunday that his party would be announcing their housing policy in the coming days, but called Eby's approach to the issue "chaotic."

"In general, on housing, Eby's approach seems to be very much an authoritarian approach, overriding local governments," he said. "We think there's a better way to be able to achieve that by working with local governments and doing pre-zoning as part of their official community plans."

The B.C. campaign officially started Saturday, ahead of the election on Oct. 19.

Eby walked along North Vancouver's waterfront Lonsdale Quay and Shipyards District early Sunday, where he viewed the sites of several proposed affordable housing developments.

One such site is the recently purchased 300,000-square-foot Insurance Corp. of B.C. building where hundreds of affordable homes are planned, Eby said.

"North Vancouver has been a great partner for this," said Eby. "They identified three BC Builds sites right off the top. They've fast-tracked permitting for those sites (where) the rental housing is particularly affordable. There are many cities like that in the province we're closely working with and we're visiting today."

Rustad noted he planned to return to Surrey many times throughout his campaign, arguing it has been ignored and treated as a second-class city by the NDP government.

He said ahead of the community's campaign kickoff event that his party would focus on the city's specific needs, including a lack of hospital and transit services, as well as affordability, crime and the education system.

He said his campaign would continue to highlight the failures of the NDP. His party will also be revealing its own proposals in coming days, starting with an announcement about affordability on Monday, he added.

The party also issued a statement Sunday saying he and Teresa Wat, Conservative candidate for Richmond-Bridgeport, plan to shut down "every single drug den injection site" in the Vancouver suburb.

Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau was scheduled to spend Sunday campaigning in her Victoria riding, where she'd lauched her campaign a day earlier.

Eby spent the campaign's first day criss-crossing the Lower Mainland with stops in Richmond, North Vancouver, Langley and Burnaby.

Rustad was on Vancouver Island Saturday night after opening his campaign in the morning at Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2024.