B.C. shows what is achievable when a government is interested in working for the people, says federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.
But his party is not the only federal party studying what is happening in B.C. right now.
“The B.C. NDP are really showing what you get with a New Democratic government, ” Singh said this week following his tour of Vancouver Island.
“We use the B.C. example, because B.C. shown Canada the focus on working people, the focus on putting people before profits and the result of that are really good policies that make peoples’ lives better.”
Federal New Democrats hold all but one of the seven federal ridings on Vancouver Island. Thirteen of 25 federal New Democrats represent ridings in B.C. British Columbia is also one of two provinces governed by the NDP, the other being Manitoba, so it is not necessarily surprising that events in B.C. loom large in the minds of the party’s federal wing.
B.C.’s influence can be seen in the federal NDP push for a national rental protection fund that would at least match B.C.’s fund of $500 million. New Democrats are also pushing for national school lunch program to help ease affordability concerns. The federal budget will be tabled on April 16.
But provincial programs like the rental protection fund do not always readily translate to the national scale. B.C.’s funds a provincial population of 5 million. A comparable program for a country of 40 million would require a significantly large investment.
“We are not getting into the specific ask yet in terms of the exact dollar figure publicly, but we are seeing that (figure of $500 million) just as a marker,” Singh said. “This (fund) is a concrete way to save homes.”
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Singh cited the recent acquisition of 16-unit-apartment building in Greater Victoria by Lu’ma Native Housing with the help of $3 million from the fund.
Federal finance minister Chrystia Freeland, meanwhile, cited BC Builds as a model worth investing in when she visited Victoria last week. Ottawa is pledging a $2-billion loan toward the program. Freeland also signalled interest in learning more about B.C.’s housing policies prior to meeting Premier David Eby.
But federal assessments of provincial policies can also go the other way.
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party controls 13 federal seats in B.C., has emerged a vocal critic of the provincial government, frequently attacking various policies, including carbon taxation and decriminalization.
B.C. — then governed by Gordon Campbell’s BC Liberals — set the precedent for today’s federal carbon tax by more than a decade with the two taxes now set to align.
Policy experts consider carbon taxation a must when it comes to reducing emissions and have broadly praised B.C.’s carbon tax. But public support has been waning.
Officials preparing for next year’s federal election will likely pay a great deal of attention to how voters in British Columbia respond to provincial policies around housing, carbon taxation in October’s provincial election.