B.C. election: Liberals to reveal big economic pledge, NDP to keep touting health care

The BC Liberals are set to make a “major economic announcement” on Monday morning, as the second week of campaigning begins in the 2020 provincial election.

Leader Andrew Wilkinson is scheduled to announce plans that will “benefit every person in British Columbia” at an event in Richmond. His party holds all four ridings in the city, but recent polls suggest the BC NDP could gain seats in Metro Vancouver.

It’s expected to be Wilkinson’s first major commitment during the campaign.

He’s recently hinted at a “holiday” from the provincial sales tax, as recommended in July by the Business Council of B.C. The group called for the PST to be halved, from seven per cent to 3.5 per cent, for two years as part of a plan it wrote to address the financial impact of COVID-19.

4:23 Week one on the election campaign trail

Wilkinson has also suggested a cap on gas prices, though that isn’t likely to be his topic on Monday because not every person in British Columbia drives.

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It’s still unknown when he will introduce his party’s full platform. On Saturday, he promised all British Columbians would get the flu immunization for free.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has said “very few” people are not eligible for the free flu shot, but the immunization will be free for everyone this year.

B.C. is one of just two provinces where some people are charged for the vaccine.

3:25 Mailing it in. How voters will cast their ballots in the B.C. election

BC NDP Leader John Horgan, meanwhile, will be in Victoria on Monday morning to discuss health care.

He was is Duncan on Vancouver Island on Sunday discussing his government’s commitment to a new hospital in the Cowichan Valley.

Horgan will be in Richmond on Monday afternoon, when he is expected to announce more candidates.

Human and civil rights lawyer Aman Singh is running again for the party in Richmond-Queensborough. The BC Liberals’ Jas Johal beat Singh by just 134 votes in the second closest race in the 2017 election.

BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau is expected in Vancouver to announce candidates as well. She will also speak about affordability.

The Greens have nominated fewer than 15 candidates so far out of B.C.’s 87 ridings.

Voters go to the polls on Oct. 24.