B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad, speaks during a news conference to kick off his campaign in Vancouver, B.C., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
The leaders of British Columbia’s two main political parties are focusing on the challenges facing Metro Vancouver communities as the provincial election campaign enters its second day.
John Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives are scheduled to be in Surrey, while David Eby and his New Democrats are focusing on housing across Metro Vancouver.
Rustad says in an interview that Surrey has been ignored and “treated as a second-class city” by the NDP government.
He says the community’s campaign kickoff event will focus on the city’s specific needs, including a lack of hospital and transit services, as well as affordability, crime and the education system.
Eby, meanwhile, is making affordable housing his campaign focus, with stops in North Vancouver, Port Moody and Langley.
The campaign officially started Saturday ahead of the election on Oct. 19.
Eby walked along North Vancouver’s waterfront Lonsdale Quay and Shipyards District where he viewed the sites of several proposed affordable housing developments.
One such site is the recently purchased 300,000-square-foot Insurance Corp. of B.C. building where hundreds of affordable homes are planned, Eby said.
“North Vancouver has been a great partner for this,” said Eby. “They identified three BC Builds sites right off the top. They’ve fast-tracked permitting for those sites (where) the rental housing is particularly affordable. There are many cities like that in the province we’re closely working with and we’re visiting today.”
Rustad says he planned to return to Surrey “many times” throughout his campaign, which he said was building momentum.
He said he would “continue to highlight the failures” of the NDP, but would also be revealing his own party’s proposals in coming days, starting with an announcement about affordability on Monday.
Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau was scheduled to spend Sunday campaigning in her Victoria riding, where she also launched her campaign on Saturday.
Eby spent the campaign’s first day criss-crossing the Lower Mainland with stops in Richmond, North Vancouver, Langley and Burnaby.
Rustad was on Vancouver Island Saturday night after opening his campaign in the morning at Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2024.
