Whoever wins the B.C. provincial election, it appears there will be a surge of spending in the years ahead, with both the BC Conservative and BC NDP leaders making multi-billion-dollar promises.
This week the BC Conservatives laid out promises for what could be tens of billions of dollars in capital spending, with infrastructure upgrades in virtually every corner of the province.
The plan includes promises to replace the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, add a second bridge across Okanagan Lake, build SkyTrain to Newton, expand the Pattullo Bridge to six lanes, expand Highway 1 to six lanes to Chilliwack and rebuild Highway 1 interchanges, replace the Taylor Bridge over the Peace River and upgrade Highway 19 around Nanaimo.
The Conservatives have also unveiled new program spending in several areas.
On Friday, the party also promised to increase the Affordable Childcare Benefit and BC Family Benefit to low-income families, along with deregulation, as a part of a plan to improve access to $ 10-a-day childcare and create 24-hour childcare spaces.
The party has previously pledged to boost tax credits and funding for seniors’ home care and add 5,000 long-term care beds, and to pay for people to go out of province for health care if wait times in B.C. are too long.
The Conservatives are also promising a $1 billion annual infrastructure fund for municipalities and $3.5 billion for tax credits on British Columbians’ mortgage and rental payments.
But Rustad has promised his party will not cut health care, while pledging to eliminate B.C.’s carbon tax, to cut small business taxes by 1 per cent, not to implement tolls or road taxes and not to impose any new taxes without a referendum, all while eliminating B.C.’s already $9 billion deficit within two terms.
In terms of how a Conservative government would pay for its promises, the party has so far pointed to growing the economy and cutting wasteful spending in general terms.
“When we announce our platform you will see the costing for the things we have announced,” Rustad said in response to questions about his spending promises on Friday.
“I’ll give John Rustad one thing. He is good at making promises and very bad at following through,” BC NDP Leader David Eby said Friday.
Eby, however, has also made a number of big-ticket promises, which would largely be funded with new government debt.
According to the NDP platform released on Thursday, new spending would add about $3 billion to the provincial deficit through 2027.
Planned NDP program spending includes a $1,000 per household tax cut, 40 per cent financing for first-time homebuyers on purpose-built housing, a guarantee of educational assistants in K-3 classrooms and expanded before- and after-school care, a freeze on car insurance premiums, and free transit for seniors during off-peak hours.
The New Democrats have made several capital spending promises as well, including extending the Broadway Subway line to UBC, funding Bus Rapid Transit to the North Shore with plans to upgrade it to light rail or SkyTrain in the future, and an extension of the West Coast Express line to Chilliwack.
The NDP revealed one new planned source of revenue on Friday: a doubling of the province’s Speculation and Vacancy Tax which targets empty homes.
British Columbians will go to the polls on Oct. 19.