Election 2026: Campaign Roundup - Day 22

Welcome to Day 22 of our British Columbia 2026 Campaign Roundup!

We're bringing you daily updates on all the policy proclamations, platform promises, and political point-scoring from the campaign trail.

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Campaign Roundup - Day 22:

• The future of BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) has become a key issue in the provincial election. Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson and OneBC Leader Dallas Brodie have called for the legislation to be repealed, CentreBC is calling for changes, and the NDP is consulting First Nations on potential amendments. The BC government’s legal challenge over whether DRIPA obligations are enforceable is also headed to the Supreme Court of Canada.
  
  
• BC’s major parties are making billions of dollars in election promises without laying out a clear plan to address the province’s projected $13.8-billion deficit and $183-billion debt. The NDP is proposing higher income taxes for top earners while temporarily cutting fuel taxes, the Conservatives are promising no new taxes and a higher basic personal tax exemption, and the Greens want a one-time wealth tax on fortunes over $50 million. Economists warn that the parties’ proposals lack a comprehensive fiscal framework. Meanwhile, interest on BC’s debt is projected to cost $6.4 billion annually, or about $1,127 per British Columbian.
  
  
• The BC Conservatives have pledged $60 million in provincial funding for a cardiac catheterization lab at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, which would provide specialized cardiac care to more than 450,000 residents of Central and Northern Vancouver Island. The party says patients requiring procedures such as angioplasty and stent placement often have to travel to Victoria or the Lower Mainland for treatment. The Nanaimo Regional Hospital District committed up to $50 million in upfront financing for the project in December 2025, but provincial construction funding has not yet been approved. The BC Conservatives criticized the NDP for leaving the project in the planning stage.
  
  
• The BC NDP has pledged to work with the federal government to build a new shipyard in the province and make the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund permanent, as part of a plan to support local industry amid trade uncertainty. The proposed shipyard would be developed with shipbuilders and labour, with the party saying it could create thousands of jobs, support national defence and help build the next generation of BC Ferries. The NDP would also provide $60 million annually through the manufacturing fund, including support for tariff-impacted forestry mills, and expand food-processing opportunities on eligible Agricultural Land Reserve properties that are unsuitable for primary food production.
  
  
• A new Research Co. poll finds that 15% of British Columbians remain undecided about how they will vote in the provincial election, nearly double the 8% who were undecided at the same point in 2024. Among decided voters, the BC Conservatives have 44% support, up four points since August, followed by the NDP at 42%, the Greens at 8%, and CentreBC and OneBC at 2% each. The leaders’ debate on Wednesday could be significant, with pollster Mario Canseco noting that many voters aged 55 and older remain undecided.

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