British Columbia Minute: Issue 132

British Columbia Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of British Columbia politics.

📅 This Week In British Columbia: 📅

• LNG Canada is moving ahead with the second phase of its Kitimat export terminal, an expansion that will double its liquefied natural gas capacity to 28 million tonnes a year. The expansion will add two processing units, known as trains, along with new storage tanks, a loading berth, and expanded utility and processing systems, and LNG Canada is working with Coastal GasLink to build five compressor stations on its existing 670-kilometer pipeline. The project was among the first five referred to Ottawa's Major Projects Office last year, and the terminal began shipping in 2025. CEO Chris Cooper claims the expansion will create thousands of jobs and strengthen Canada's position as an energy supplier, as Asian customers seek more secure supplies amid the Iran conflict. In July, a partnership representing five First Nations in the region gained the option to spend up to $1 billion on a stake in the expansion. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre noted on Sunday, September 27th, that the project was permitted in 2016, and argued that it took a decade to reach an investment decision partly because the federal government originally required it to be powered exclusively by hydroelectricity. He called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to repeal the industrial carbon tax and create pre-permitting zones for LNG plants.
  
  
• Prime Minister Mark Carney has designated Pacific Link, a proposed oil pipeline from Alberta to the BC coast, as the first project of national interest under the Building Canada Act. The roughly 1,250-kilometer pipeline would run from Bruderheim, Alberta, to a port near Delta, with an estimated cost of $35.2 billion to $43.7 billion. It would carry about one million barrels of crude oil a day for shipment to international markets. Ownership is to be split between Trans Mountain Corporation, a federal Crown corporation, and the Alberta government, and Indigenous communities will be offered at least 10% ownership financed through federal and provincial loan programs. Carney announced the designation with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Fort McMurray on Thursday, October 1st, and says the federal Major Projects Office will finalize the project's conditions by September 1st, 2027, after which the Alberta government says construction can begin. Alberta's Treasury Board and Finance department estimates the extra oil production would bring in more than $265 billion in additional Alberta royalties over an operating life of roughly 50 years, and the Alberta government projects that construction could support up to 140,000 jobs at its peak, primarily in Alberta and British Columbia. Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi welcomed the decision, saying his party had advocated for the southern route for months over Smith's objections.
  
  
• Interim BC Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson confirmed at a press conference last Monday, that a Conservative government would repeal both the sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) curriculum in schools and the NDP government's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). Doerkson argued SOGI has become a lightning rod for division, while saying students who identify as LGBT+ must still feel safe in schools. He said DRIPA has not created the security for British Columbians it was meant to achieve, and that the province is "in court everywhere" as a result.
  
  
• BC's two leading parties are also offering sharply different approaches to taxes and affordability ahead of the October 24th provincial election. Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson has vowed to "never raise taxes" over four years in government, while NDP Leader David Eby has pledged to double the speculation and vacancy tax to 2% for domestic owners and 5% for foreign owners. The NDP also promises a new tax on finished condos left empty for more than a year, starting at 2% of the unit's value and rising by 1% for every vacant year, which it claims could force up to 5,000 units onto the market. Asked how he would tackle the $13.8-billion deficit without tax hikes, Doerkson said he would focus on reopening closed resource businesses such as mills, and he insisted he would not cut health care.
  
  
• The BC NDP failed to nominate a candidate in Peace River North before Elections BC closed nominations on Saturday, October 3rd, leaving the party without a full slate in the October 24th provincial election that Premier David Eby called. Elections BC's final tally counted 92 New Democrats and 93 Conservatives, along with 73 BC Greens, 35 CentreBC candidates, and 33 OneBC candidates. The NDP told reporters it did not get the paperwork completed for Peace River North, where the ballot now lists only Independent MLA Jordan Kealy and Conservative Curtis Whitford. Kealy, who left the Conservative caucus in March 2025, won the seat in 2024 with 74.36% of the vote, while the NDP candidate took 5.49%.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

With the BC election campaign underway, the race is already shaping up to be an interesting one.

What do you think will happen on election day? Who do you expect to form the next government, and which issues do you think will decide the election? Share your prediction with us.

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