Your B.C. election guide to key climate and conservation issues

In May, a fast-growing wildfire darkened skies and forced the evacuation of thousands of people in B.C.’s northeast. It was an early start to the 2024 wildfire season. By Oct. 1 — the official end of the wildfire season — more than 5.3 million hectares of B.C. had burned, making this year the second-worst wildfire season the province has ever recorded.

The province’s northeast — the epicentre of fracking operations to supply new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects — has also suffered from persistent drought conditions that have affected much of B.C. over the past two years, harming crops and threatening fish.

And months before the wildfire smoke began drifting across the landscape, a record-breaking cold snap devastated the province’s orchards and wineries.

About one-third of British Columbians said they have been impacted by extreme weather events this year, according to an August poll conducted by Leger and 61 per cent said they expect to see extreme weather events happening more frequently in the future.

But climate action and environmental issues have largely been given short shrift during B.C.’s provincial election campaign, which comes to a close on Oct. 19 (unless you count the climate change skepticism and conspiracy theories espoused by some candidates running for the BC Conservatives, led by John Rustad).

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While issues like affordability, housing and healthcare have taken centre stage during this election campaign, party platforms and announcements reveal what a re-elected BC NDP government or a newly minted BC Conservative government could mean for B.C.’s environment and climate action commitments, as well as what a BC Greens caucus would push for.

Where do B.C. parties stand on the carbon tax?

• Both the BC NDP and BC Conservatives will repeal the province’s consumer carbon tax 
• The BC Greens will “fix the tax” instead of axing it, by making it fairer and demonstrating its benefits

The BC NDP recently flip-flopped on B.C.’s consumer carbon tax, which it previously supported. If the federal government changes the law requiring a consumer carbon tax, “we will end the consumer carbon tax in British Columbia,” party leader David Eby told reporters last month, nodding to federal Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre’s promise to “axe the tax” if his party forms government after the next federal election — a move now supported by the federal NDP.

“We will ensure that the big polluters pay a carbon price in our province to make sure that we’re taking action on climate change,” Eby said in September.

The BC Conservatives, meanwhile, have led the charge to “axe the tax” in B.C. Rustad, the party’s leader, has said carbon pricing is “an economic disaster and an environmental failure” that “drives up costs on everything from groceries to gas, hitting families and businesses hard while doing absolutely nothing to lower emissions.” However, most of B.C.’s carbon tax revenue is returned to residents through the provincial climate action tax credit, which is income-tested. This year, the finance ministry estimated 65 per cent of B.C. households received the quarterly credit, while 80 per cent are expected to get the credit by 2030.

BC Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau criticized Eby’s change of heart, advocating instead for tweaks to the province’s consumer carbon price. “This is a government with no principles and no direction,” Furstenau said in a statement. “Fix the carbon tax, make it fair, show how it can improve lives and invest in the transition we need.” 

What do B.C. election platforms say about LNG?

• The BC Conservatives will double B.C.’s production of liquefied natural gas (LNG)
• The BC NDP, which has championed multiple LNG projects, will direct some of the revenue raised from oil and gas projects, including LNG development, into a “clean economy transition fund”
• The BC Greens will ban new LNG approvals and phase out fracking

Two LNG export projects are under construction in B.C., with one more approved and another four in planning and environmental assessment phases. B.C.-based LNG export production will begin next year when LNG Canada expects to start shipping liquefied gas overseas. 

The BC Conservatives are bullish on natural gas, promising to double the province’s LNG production. 

The BC NDP’s election platform only mentions LNG once, saying some of the revenue raised from LNG projects will be directed into a “clean economy transition fund” to help “attract even more global investment in renewable fuels, clean tech, manufacturing and critical mineral mines.” While in government, the NDP approved Cedar LNG, green-lighted the LNG Canada project and issued construction permits for Woodfibre LNG.

The BC Greens platform pledges to end new approvals for LNG projects, phase out fracking and “commission a comprehensive and independent health impact assessment to evaluate the health effects of LNG and fracking activities in B.C.”

Where do B.C. parties stand on nuclear energy?

• The BC Conservatives will embrace nuclear power, banned in B.C. since 2010
• The BC NDP and BC Greens say nuclear power is not needed to meet the province’s future energy needs

BC Conservatives Leader Rustad, who was a member of the BC Liberal government that implemented B.C.’s ban on nuclear power in 2010, now calls the decision to take nuclear off the table a political move rather than one grounded in good policy.

“We’re going to actually have to have a conversation about the possibility of using nuclear power in British Columbia if we want to be able to increase the ability to have affordable, reliable, clean energy,” Rustad told attendees at the Union of BC Municipalities convention in Vancouver in September. 

BC NDP Leader Eby rejects that conclusion, pointing to B.C.’s abundant clean energy options, from long-standing hydro power generation to wind, solar and potentially geothermal.

BC Greens Leader Furstenau is similarly dismissive of Rustad’s suggestion the province needs nuclear power, calling it “a nonsensical conversation to be having in B.C.”

“We have everything we need in B.C. to create an abundant amount of clean energy,” Furstenau told reporters at the annual municipalities convention. “We should lean into that with everything we’ve got and get moving into the 21st century.”

What do B.C. election platforms promise for at-risk species?

• The BC Greens promise stand-alone legislation to protect species at risk
• The BC NDP backtracked on a 2017 commitment to introduce stand-alone legislation to protect species at risk, instead promising a “made-in-B.C. strategy” to protect biodiversity and watersheds
• The BC Conservatives will introduce “made-in-B.C. species at risk legislation” 

There are 1,952 species and ecosystems officially at some risk of extinction in the province, according to the B.C. government’s conservation data centre — and advocates say the province’s lack of stand-alone legislation to protect species at risk of extinction remains a glaring gap. In its 2017 campaign platform, the BC NDP committed to bring in a provincial law governing endangered species. But it quietly reneged on that promise after coming to power.

Both the BC Greens and BC Conservatives have promised, if elected, to introduce legislation to protect the province’s growing number of at-risk species if elected.

“We are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis and standing at a crossroads: either we take bold action to protect our ecosystems or we risk losing iconic species like caribou, spotted owls and orcas forever,” the Greens stated in its platform.

The BC Conservatives platform says the NDP government has underfunded and mismanaged wildlife in the province, resulting in “a decline in our iconic ungulate species, and out-of-control predator populations.” 

It says a Conservative government would introduce “made-in-B.C. species at risk legislation so wildlife protections are shaped by B.C.-based experts — not Ottawa — and are reflective of our unique ecosystems.”

The BC NDP platform makes no mention of legislation to protect at-risk species. Instead, the party has committed to working with First Nations and other partners on a “made-in-B.C. strategy” to protect biodiversity and watersheds, if re-elected.

Late last year, the NDP government released a draft biodiversity and ecosystem health framework. It said the framework would set the direction “for a more holistic approach to stewarding our land and water resources” and eventually lead to legislation to protect biodiversity.

While the party initially aimed to finalize the framework by the spring, the strategy’s future now rests on the outcome of the election.

What are B.C. parties promising for old-growth forests?

• The BC Conservatives promise to set aside two-thirds of forests from industrial forestry, but the party doesn’t specify whether it will protect B.C.’s old-growth forests
• The BC NDP promise to finish implementing the recommendations of the 2020 old-growth forest strategic review, which called for immediate logging deferrals in forests at the highest risk of biodiversity loss 
• The BC Greens promise to defer logging in at-risk old-growth forests and compensate First Nations for lost revenues

The BC Conservatives promise, if elected, they will ensure two-thirds of B.C.’s forested areas are set aside from industrial-scale forestry activity and remain in their “original forested state.” But the party doesn’t specify whether it would protect disappearing old-growth forests, which are both rich in biodiversity and sought after by industry. Critics say the plan fails to protect old-growth forests and at-risk ecosystems.

In an analysis of each party’s stand on environmental issues, the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance, a conservation charity, raised concerns the Conservatives would focus protections on “mainly subalpine, rocky and muskeg landscapes with small and stunted trees of low to no timber value,” while allowing “logging to continue in areas where biodiversity conservation is supposed to be prioritized.”

The BC NDP says it will protect more old-growth forests, if re-elected, by working with First Nations to finish implementing the landmark recommendations from a 2020 old-growth forest strategic review, which called for a major shift in how B.C. manages its forests to prioritize biodiversity and ecosystem health. The party said it will create a fund to help mills re-tool so they can process smaller second-growth trees instead of old-growth trees.

The BC Greens have promised to defer logging in the most at-risk old-growth forests and fully fund their protection, compensating First Nations for any lost revenues due to logging deferrals. In an Oct. 4 press release, the party pledged to increase the number and size of community forests “to promote biodiversity, wildfire protection, rural development and ecosystem resilience.” The Greens also promised to stop clearcut logging and “switch to practices like selective logging, commercial thinning and longer rotation cycles that mimic natural forest changes.” 

Which B.C. parties commit to protecting 30 per cent of the landscape by 2030?

• The BC NDP remains committed to achieving the global 30-by-30 conservation target, but has made only marginal progress 
• The BC Greens will work with First Nations to achieve the 30-by-30 target
• The BC Conservatives plan to abandon the province’s commitment to protecting 30 per cent of B.C.’s land

At the United Nations biodiversity conference in December 2022, Canada and 195 other countries committed to conserve at least 30 per cent of land and water globally by 2030 as part of international efforts to reverse the unprecedented decline of biodiversity. 

In 2022, BC NDP Leader Eby tasked Stikine Nathan Cullen, in his role as minister of water, land and resource stewardship, with working to achieve the 30-by-30 goal. As of the end of last year, the government claims 19.7 per cent of B.C. is protected — although limited development and industrial activity is allowed in some areas, and critics say some areas in the tally fail to meet biodiversity goals. 

Both the BC NDP and the BC Greens say they are committed to working with First Nations towards the 30-by-30 goal.

BC Conservatives Leader John Rustad told The Narwhal in May he would abandon B.C.’s plans to conserve 30 per cent of land in the province by 2030, a move that could jeopardize Canada’s international commitments.

Where do B.C.’s parties stand on Indigenous Rights?

• The BC Conservatives will repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act 
• The BC NDP and BC Greens will stay the course on commitments to Indigenous Rights, and promise to work with First Nations on conservation goals

Rustad has said the BC Conservatives would repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), a law he previously supported. The Tŝilhqot’in National Government and the First Nations Leadership Council denounced the Conservative position in public statements.

Both the BC Greens and the BC NDP commit to staying the course on the province’s commitments to Indigenous Rights. The BC Greens will also invest in Indigenous-led conservation and Indigenous Guardians programs. 

— Compiled by Jacqueline Ronson