Cutting gas prices by 30 cents a litre and cracking down on gouging

Big oil and gas companies have exploited overseas conflicts to make record profits, leaving ordinary drivers and truckers to pay the price every time they fill up. Donald Trump's war in Iran caused global oil prices to spike, and oil companies used the conflict to unfairly inflate their margins by 20 cents a litre. This corporate price gouging has cost British Columbians an estimated $865 million in added fuel costs, while the four largest Canadian oil companies doubled their quarterly profits. With Trump now threatening a ban on diesel exports, drivers and truckers face even higher costs at the pump.

We have a plan to

• Suspend 10 cents per litre of the provincial motor fuel tax on gasoline and diesel to provide immediate relief at the pump.
• Establish a "price guard" empowering the BC Utilities Commission to enforce strict pricing rules and cap excess profit margins.
• Taken together, these actions will provide direct relief at the pumps – saving drivers up to 30 cents a litre and $20 per tank for an average family vehicle. Short-haul truck drivers will save as much as $116 every time they fill up a tank of diesel.

Cracking down on big grocery price-gouging, capping profits on basics, and banning predatory surveillance pricing

Families are being squeezed every time they go to the store because corporate retailers are using inflation as a cover to jack up prices on essential goods, while the profits of grocery giants soar. This year, an average family of four will spend over $17,500 on groceries with prices 27% higher than five years ago, while five retail chains control 80% of the market.

We have a plan to

• Put a Price Guard in place to cap big grocery store profits on basics: Set a hard ceiling on retail margins for everyday essentials, including milk, eggs, cheese, butter, and poultry, which already have wholesale price management.
• Stop them from blocking competition: Ban anti-competitive real estate deals and property controls that big grocery chains use to keep independent competitors from opening up shop in your neighbourhood so they can charge you higher prices.
• End their hidden price games: Mandate clear, consistent per-unit pricing on the shelf in all stores so corporations can't use deceptive "shrinkflation" to hide price hikes with smaller packages.
• Support smaller local grocery stores: Invest in local food infrastructure by partnering with Ottawa to build an independent, regional wholesale food terminal in the Lower Mainland, letting smaller independent grocers bypass the giants' distribution chains, and bringing you more choice and lower prices.
• Stop predatory surveillance pricing: Strengthen consumer protection and privacy laws to prohibit AI-powered algorithmic pricing. This prevents big corporations from exploiting your personal data and market power to unfairly manipulate and raise prices at the register.
• The impact on grocery costs for families will be seen over time, as corporate retailers are prevented from price gouging and, depending on the region, implementing this suite of measures could save customers up to $700 per year.

Freezing ICBC basic auto insurance rates

Families need their cars to take kids to school and to work – they want predictable low costs for car insurance. While Conservatives made a secret deal to dismantle ICBC and double insurance costs for drivers, we’re focused on keeping costs down and maintaining stability for B.C. drivers.

We have a plan to

• Extend the freeze on ICBC basic auto insurance rates for an additional three years, keeping basic rates frozen through to spring 2030, totalling a decade of rate freezes.
• Protect drivers from high litigation costs and rate hikes, keeping lawyer expenses out of the insurance system to ensure stable and predictable rates.
• Ensure seriously injured people get the strengthened support they need.

Turning more empty condos into homes people can afford

As Donald Trump's trade war drives up prices here, we need to do everything we can to lower people's everyday costs, starting with housing costs. While measures like the Speculation and Vacancy Tax have helped turn 20,000 empty units into long-term rental homes, developers holding onto empty, unsold finished condos continue to keep housing prices out of reach for middle-class families. Over 5,000 finished condos worth $4.45 billion are currently sitting empty and unsold across B.C., with over 1,300 vacant for more than two years.

We have a plan to

• Increase the Speculation and Vacancy Tax (SVT) rate by one percentage point: from 1% to 2% on domestic resident owners of secondary properties, and from 4% to 5% on foreign speculators, to push more units into the rental market for people.
• Introduce a new Unsold Condo Tax on large developer-owned finished condos that have been vacant and unsold for more than 1 year, starting at 2% in Year 2 and increasing by 1% for each additional year a condo remains unsold to push developers to lower prices or turn units into rentals.
• The change will help put more empty units into the long-term rental market, and any additional revenue will go to building more affordable homes people need.
• This will unlock up to 5,000 finished condos for British Columbians to buy or rent at prices people can afford.

Free transit for low-income seniors

The Seniors Bus Pass allows low-income seniors to ride public transit, including buses, the SkyTrain, and the SeaBus. Currently, low-income seniors pay a $45 annual fee. We’ll eliminate that fee to make life a little easier for BC seniors most in need.

We have a plan to

• Make the Seniors’ Bus Pass free for 350,000 low-income seniors across the province
• Expand income eligibility so tens of thousands more seniors facing financial pressure can access public transit for free.

Building more affordable child care on school grounds

Finding affordable child care is life-changing for families. We’re committed to a universal, affordable child care system in BC. That’s why we fought to make child care a central part of the historic Canada-BC Shared Prosperity Agreement, and we're working with the federal government to invest in more spaces, workers, and quality care.

We’re making sure BC families get the child care investments they need – and at a critical moment with an upcoming December 1st deadline to come to an agreement with the federal government on expanding affordable child care.

We have a plan to

• Expand school-based child care: Adding 7,200 before- and after-school spaces on school grounds to give more families access to seamless child care in places they already know and trust. This will be supported by $80 million to fund startup costs, renovations, and ongoing costs.
• Strengthen universal child care: Committing $250 million in new provincial dollars to leverage federal funding in the negotiations and work with the federal government and the childcare sector to:
  1. Improve wages and working conditions for early childhood educators, including a provincial wage grid;
  2. Expand the number of affordable child care spaces; and
  3. Bring in a hard, universal fee cap like Ontario.

Making Housing More Affordable

British Columbians work hard, but it’s still too hard to afford a good home here. For too long, conservatives have let speculators drive the cost of housing out of reach for people. David Eby’s housing plan is making a difference. We have to keep going to build more affordable homes.

We have a plan to

• Put in place a Small Builder Permit Guarantee: Bring in 30-day permit deadlines for completed applications for small residential builds (up to six units) that fit within official community plans in large municipalities. We will provide $5M per year to support municipal governments to meet this target.
• Reduce red tape for builders: Streamline the permitting process by implementing standardized, province-wide technical code and permit application requirements for small residential builds.
• Lower construction costs: Reach a final agreement with the federal government to lower development cost charges for multi-unit housing by up to 50% - equal to $40,000 per unit - while expanding road and water infrastructure needed to support new homes.
• Protect renters: Partner with the federal government to leverage funding and double the number of homes we can protect through the BC Rental Protection Fund by purchasing at-risk buildings so non-profits can keep rents affordable.
• Build shovel-ready affordable homes: Invest $390 million in a new Shovel-Ready Affordable Housing call to help non-market housing projects move quickly for people who need help most.