Election 2026: Campaign Roundup - Day 9

Welcome to Day 9 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 9:

• A new Leger poll shows that, among decided voters, the BC Conservatives have 39% support compared with 36% for the NDP, while the Greens sit at 13%, OneBC at 5%, and CentreBC at 5%. The poll also found that 28% of British Columbians say they are likely to switch their vote before the October 24th election, that 58% believe BC is on the wrong track, and that health care, housing affordability, and the economy are the top issues facing voters.
  
  
• The various parties issued statements on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Conservative Party of BC Leader Lorne Doerkson focused on remembering residential school survivors, the children who never came home, and the families affected, while saying reconciliation should include “economic reconciliation” and highlighting Indigenous candidates running for the party. The BC NDP said the day was about remembering survivors and the children who never came home, while the BC Greens outlined a series of Indigenous policy commitments, including implementing DRIPA through legislation, creating an Indigenous Languages Act and establishing a taskforce focused on missing and murdered Indigenous women, children and Two-Spirit people. CentreBC also called for recognition of residential school survivors and opposition to any efforts to diminish the history of residential schools.
  
  
• CentreBC said David Eby’s government gave the Drug User Liberation Front (DULF) more than $500,000 in taxpayer funding, which the party says was ultimately used to purchase illicit drugs through the dark web. The party criticized the government over its support for DULF and argued that taxpayer money should not have been allowed to reach criminal drug networks. The comments came after a BC Supreme Court judge stayed the drug-trafficking convictions of DULF’s founders and ruled that parts of Canada’s drug laws were unconstitutional.
  
  
• The BC Greens announced a plan to support renters, including immediately reinstating the Community Housing Fund and Indigenous Housing Fund, introducing vacancy control, banning blanket no-pet clauses in rental agreements, and expanding rental assistance programs. The Greens say they would also protect 2,000 deeply affordable rental homes each year and set a goal of building and protecting 26,000 housing units annually.
  
  
• The accelerated election timeline is leaving parties with little time to recruit and vet candidates ahead of the October 24th election. Parties have until October 3rd to register candidates with Elections BC, but the compressed timeline could mean less time for background checks, social media reviews, and other vetting. Smaller parties are particularly affected, while the NDP and Conservatives can rely more heavily on incumbents and candidates who have run before.

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