Andrew Wilkinson
A Rhodes Scholar with degrees in both law and medicine, Wilkinson was first elected as MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena in 2013 and has served as minister of advanced education and technology, innovation and citizens’ services.
TAXATION:
•Abolish the small-business income tax on family businesses
•Reinstate revenue neutrality for carbon taxes
HOUSING:
•Provide new tax incentives to increase supply of rental housing
•Earmark 50% of all budget surpluses for five years to reward communities that are “affordable, safe and sustainable”
•Enact legislation for municipalities to reduce liability and speed up processing of housing permits
TRANSPORTATION:
•Consider sale of “air space rights” for transit expansion
•Expropriate idle or underused property near major transit lines
•Work with developers to cost-share transit improvements on large-scale developments
•Move ahead with transit improvements without a referendum
•Begin planning for autonomous vehicles
RESOURCES AND ENERGY:
•Establish a northern premier’s and cabinet office in Prince George
•Work with federal government to expedite the harmonized environmental assessment process
•Implement measures to protect threatened species
•Update forest inventory to account for fire and beetle damage, and ensure a predictable wood supply
•Work with industry and First Nations to enhance fibre supply
•Leverage and market B.C.’s clean-power advantage
TRADE:
•Support more international trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and a revised North American Free Trade Agreement
TECHNOLOGY:
•Enhance technology incubator and accelerator environment with goal of making B.C. a leader in bio-tech, clean tech, environmental monitoring, digital animation, special effects, data analytics and computer learning
•Create new bachelor of science degree in engineering at the University of Northern British Columbia
Sam Sullivan
Sullivan is a former Vancouver mayor, was elected Liberal MLA for Vancouver-False Creek in 2013 and 2017 and is an Order of Canada recipient
TAXATION:
Bring back the HST in the form of a modified sales tax. When British Columbia abandoned the HST, 130 out of 193 countries had an HST-type tax. Today an additional 40 countries have made the transition to a more modern tax conducive to a good economy. British Columbia is the only jurisdiction that has gone backwards from a modern to a primitive tax. I will host a robust public process and if there is general consensus we will implement the MST.
HOUSING:
I will remove city councillors from public hearings on development decisions. Judicial tribunals will carefully review the values expressed by the council and make expeditious and consistent decisions that will remove the political risk from development. This will flatten the supply curve for the housing market and dramatically increase supply and reduce prices.
TRANSPORTATION:
As minister (responsible for TransLink), my first move was to eliminate the need for a referendum on transportation funding. I will end the role of the provincial government as the appeal board for every local government and TransLink decision. The provincial government will support local governments and not constantly second-guess them.
RESOURCES AND ENERGY:
Every region will be able to define its identity and priorities. Urban people should not tell rural people what is important. Rural people should not tell urban people what is important. First Nations are critical to the development of resources and energy. I will ensure that they benefit from the economic development of the province. I believe they will become the greatest proponents of development
TRADE:
We need to continue to diversify our economy so it is less dependent on the United States.
TECHNOLOGY:
The most important thing we can do for the technology sector is to create a high-quality urban lifestyle that technology workers are attracted to. Affordable housing, affordable daycare, great arts and culture, etc. An important economic issue is the problem of drug addiction. Theft and public disorder harm our economy. I will take the profits out of organized crime by offering prescriptions to any
Dianne Watts
Watts is the only Liberal leadership candidate who is not a sitting member of the B.C. legislature. She has a considerable political profile, however, having served as the Conservative member of Parliament for South Surrey-White Rock from 2015 to 2017, and as a three-term mayor of Surrey.
TAXATION:
I consider the BC Liberal Party a free enterprise party. Full stop. Creating the environment for a thriving private sector requires a consistent and interconnected strategy incorporating transportation, taxation and education. We must also strive to make sure that the economy benefits all regions and all demographics and that we continue to make British Columbia affordable.
Affordability is a complex issue and requires more than keeping taxes low.
HOUSING:
Housing affordability is a critical priority, and there is no “one size fits all” solution. In some areas, the housing priority may be student or seniors housing, while in areas like the Lower Mainland the priority is to increase the housing stock in a way that does not outstrip a municipality’s ability to provide critical infrastructure. We always must be sensitive to the reality that to many people, home equity represents a large chunk of their retirement savings.
TRANSPORTATION:
Transportation is critical to our economic future, quality of life and affordability. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to building our transportation infrastructure, and we must take a comprehensive approach that involves regional planning and local input. As someone who has served both municipally and federally, I understand the need to engage these critical partnerships in both identifying priorities and as funding partners.
RESOURCES AND ENERGY:
The resource sector has been a key driver in technological innovation and supports so many IT and professional service jobs in the Lower Mainland. We must continue to support the oil and gas, forestry and mining sectors and ensure that our educational system provides the skills our young people need in both the technology and resource sectors.
TRADE:
I am committed to continuing to build trade relationships and ensuring that we continue to build critical infrastructure to support the Asia Pacific Gateway.
TECHNOLOGY:
I am extremely proud of the BC Liberal record on the economy, and I believe that continuing a low-tax strategy and balanced budgets are critical to ongoing success. As well, we must continue to diversify and let the imaginations of our entrepreneurs create limitless opportunities.
Michael Lee
Of the six leadership candidates, Michael Lee is the rookie of the bunch. He was elected as MLA for Vancouver-Langara in May 2017 and serves as the official Opposition critic for transportation and infrastructure.
TAXATION:
•Reverse all NDP tax increases
•Eliminate special tax on liquefied natural gas to make industry more competitive
•Re-establish revenue neutrality for carbon tax
•Increase PST tax credit for low-income British Columbians
HOUSING:
•Champion the “housing first” approach
•Work with municipal and federal partners to provide housing for people with chronic addiction and mental illness. Providing housing is also the best fiscal strategy to help stop the cycle of homelessness and poverty
TRANSPORTATION:
•Complete George Massey Tunnel replacement
•Expand rapid transit in Surrey and extend to Langley
•Build rapid transit beneath the Broadway corridor in Vancouver out to the University of British Columbia
•Design a light-rail solution for western communities on the south Vancouver Island
•Widen the Trans-Canada Highway from the Alberta border
•Partner with Ottawa to create integrated port strategy
RESOURCES AND ENERGY:
•Accelerate adoption of electric vehicles, work with municipalities to establish charging station network and adopt building codes that support vehicle-charging stations
•Develop a strategy for B.C.’s 620,000 kilometres of resource roads that will enhance resource development, tourism, safety and recreation.
•Attract new industries and clean-economy jobs to B.C. by promoting the world’s best complement of clean greenhouse-gas-free power production
TRADE:
•We will develop a trade marketing strategy to help market our small-business and tourism sector to international markets, through the creative use of social media and reverse trade shows
•We will increase government expenditures to support our agriculture and agri-food sector and bring our annual expenditures up to the national average over the next five years
TECHNOLOGY:
•Introduce “Broadband B.C.” initiative, with a provincewide utility to deliver broadband everywhere in B.C.
Mike de Jong
The longest-sitting MLA (Abbotsford West) of all the candidates, de Jong was first elected to the B.C. legislature in 1994 and has held several senior cabinet posts, including health, attorney general and finance.
TAXATION:
•Keeping our taxes competitive has been a pillar of our economic prosperity. I will continue that.
•I’d return carbon tax to revenue neutrality.
•If you talk taxes, you have to talk spending. Too many people forget that when they ramp up spending promises. We need to have a balance between the right taxes and critical investments.
•Beware of people promising to spend the surplus.
HOUSING:
•A lack of supply is the problem – it’s hurting families, our communities and our economy.
•I would legislate timelines for municipalities and regional governments to make planning decisions – yes or no – on development approvals.
•I will provide ongoing financial incentives for local governments to help streamline approvals and enhance the capacity of their planning and zoning to meet these timelines.
TRANSPORTATION:
•We need to fund further expansions and improvements inside the context of balanced budgets – like the record investments we made in transportation projects over the past few years.
•First we need to make sure we have a strong economy and balanced budgets.
•We need to do a better job working with TransLink in the Lower Mainland, and with other communities across the province.
•We also need to keep paying down debt.
RESOURCES AND ENERGY:
•We need to have world-leading environmental standards for our resource sectors. We can show the world how it can be done and develop the technology and know-how to export to other jurisdictions.
•If we want to have environmentally responsible resource projects – and the high-paying jobs that come with them – government needs to set clear rules for private investment and stick with them.
•All projects need to include environmental values and bringing First Nations to the table.
TRADE:
•We need to build on the efforts that started when I was forest minister to expand our markets in China and India.
•Investments in education can enhance our trade in the long run. Mandarin-language training will help the next generation grow our trade relationships. And that’s the start – we can expand training in other trade languages like Punjabi, Japanese and Korean.
TECHNOLOGY:
•We need to build on our tech strategy to find a way for B.C. innovators to turn their ideas into products and services that can be sold, and drive growth.
•I led the expansion of the digital tax credit to help virtual reality and augmented reality companies become world leaders. I’ll work with our tech and resource sectors to seek out similar opportunities.
Todd Stone
The former CEO of tech company iCompass Technologies, Stone was elected as MLA of Kamloops-South Thompson in 2013 and 2017 and served under the Christy Clark government as transportation minister from 2015 to 2017.
TAXATION:
•Roll back NDP tax hikes and freeze current income tax rates
•Modernize the PST
•Work to reduce the PST by 1% when revenues allow
•Continue to plan to eliminate the MSP
•Explore a provincial equity release program to help low-to-moderate-income seniors
•Return carbon tax to revenue neutrality
HOUSING:
•Work to eliminate the property transfer tax for B.C. residents buying their first home
•Provide an incentive for construction of rental housing
•Discourage vacant homes with an additional property tax surcharge
•Establish $100 million fund to help municipalities speed up development application process
•Support densification
TRANSPORTATION:
•Expand rapid transit networks in Metro Vancouver
•Tackle affordability through transportation planning
•Better connect rural B.C. through expanding road networks, upgrading existing routes and ensuring better air access
•Extend CEV (clean-energy vehicles) rebate program and make it permanent
•Enhance provincial electric vehicle infrastructure and charging networks
RESOURCES AND ENERGY:
The resource sector has been a key driver in technological innovation and supports so many IT and professional service jobs in the Lower Mainland. We must continue to support the oil and gas, forestry and mining sectors and ensure that our educational system provides the skills our young people need in both the technology and resource sectors.
TRADE:
Trade expansion to Asia is generating vast opportunities to produce fresh and processed food for sale in those markets. We need to expand our B.C. trade offices in Asia to maximize the potential for B.C.’s highly varied and increasingly high-value food sector to take advantage of Asia’s growing middle class.
TECHNOLOGY:
•Train British Columbians for the new economy
•Connect rural B.C. with high-speed internet
•Expand coding education beyond grades 6 to 9 in schools
•Create a Disruptive Technology Advisory Council involving tech-sector leaders, academia, government and labour to identify challenges and opportunities.
