British Columbia Premier David Eby speaks at the NDP Convention in Hamilton, Ont., on Friday, October 13, 2023. British Columbia New Democrats are in Victoria this weekend debating policy and strategy at the party's convention ahead of next year's provincial election. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power
VICTORIA – British Columbia Premier David Eby says he wakes up every morning thinking about more steps his government can take to tackle the province’s housing crisis.
Eby told more than 700 cheering delegates at the B.C. New Democrat Party’s convention on Saturday that he will leave no stone unturned to build more homes for people, but it’s a job that will take time.
He says the NDP has recently introduced legislation and regulations to restrict short-term rental accommodations, fast-track building approvals and build more housing at transit locations.
New Democrats are in Victoria this weekend to debate policy and strategy at the party’s convention ahead of next year’s provincial election.
Eby’s wife Cailey Lynch, who introduced the premier prior to his address, surprised convention delegates by announcing the couple is expecting their third child.
Outside the convention hall, about 250 protesters carrying placards and chanting slogans called on Eby’s government to end fracking, a process used to extract natural gas from rock, saying the emissions from the province’s oil and gas industry expansions will fuel more climate disasters like wildfires and floods.
The B.C. election is scheduled for fall 2024.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2023.
