BC’s fall session by the numbers and how it adds up for you

Press Release

December 4, 2025

The fall sitting of the BC Legislature wrapped up Wednesday, a session where Premier David Eby focused on a new ambitious economic plan in response to the impact of the Trump tariffs, while the Opposition zeroed in on the on-going challenges in health care, government spending and public safety.

Blessed with a weakened Opposition in the middle of a leadership crisis and focused on a new economic strategy, Eby had a successful, if at times tumultuous, fall sitting of the Legislature. However, vulnerabilities in a variety of files continue to be a focus for the Opposition.

With so much at stake, just a year after the election with the governing BC NDP holding a slim one-seat majority, here is the session by the numbers:

One new economic development plan

A day after a successful BC NDP convention in mid-November, Premier David Eby and Jobs and Economic Development Minister Ravi Kahlon released Look West, a new economic development plan for British Columbia. The plan relies on building renewable energy, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and mining, powered by a new Northwest Transmission Line.

Look West represents a significant pivot for the Eby government towards resource development and extraction to create jobs and economic development, a must as Canada enters a second year of economic turmoil due to punitive tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump.

The plan commits to breaking ground on 18 initial major projects representing $20 billion in spending and 8,000 jobs.

It also pledges to expand energy infrastructure through the Northwest Transmission Line, creating 9,700 direct jobs and delivering more than 2,200 MW to northern BC.

Four Projects of National Interest

This fall Prime Minister Mark Carney approved four Projects of National Interest in BC as part of his plan to stimulate economic development in Canada including:

• LNG Canada Phase II (Kitimat). This expansion doubles LNG production capacity in northern BC.
• Red Chris Mine Expansion (northwestern BC). The expansion of this copper and gold mine was included among the first phase of major projects.
• Ksi Lisims LNG (Pearse Island, BC Northwest coast). Announced in second phase, this is a floating LNG export facility plus associated infrastructure.
• Northwest Transmission Line: A 450-kilometre power transmission line in northwest BC, also announced in the second phase, would power projects like Ksi Lisims LNG and support a broader clean-energy industrial corridor.

These project sign offs validate BC’s economic plan. All these projects require First Nations partnership and approval to proceed.

20 Dissident BC Conservative MLAs

John Rustad stepped down this morning as BC Conservative Leader after he was removed by the BC Conservative Party Board.

The board acted after receiving a letter stating that a majority of caucus, (20 of 39 members) had lost confidence in Rustad to continue as leader.

While Rustad initially refused to leave, it was impossible for him to continue to head up a deeply fractured caucus and party executive who have now openly voiced their opposition to his leadership.

Both the party board and the 20 dissident MLAs have stated they have now endorsed Surrey White Rock-MLA, Trevor Halford, to become the interim leader.

The writing has been on the wall for Rustad for months.

Five Conservative MLAs had already either quit or were removed from caucus. Three former Conservative MLAs, Dallas Brodie, Tara Armstrong and Jordan Kealy, think Rustad is too centrist while two others, Elenore Sturko and Amelia Boultbee, see the need to reach a broader spectrum of centre-right voters

After leaving the BC Caucus, Brodie and Armstrong have teamed up to form OneBC, which has taken extreme positions on issues such as denying harm from the Indian Residential School System. In a recent EKOs poll, the new party is approaching eight per cent in support tied with the BC Greens.

In 2024, BC’s centre-right coalition of voters rallied around Rustad and his fledgling party, putting him within a whisker of the premier’s office. Just over a year later that coalition has begun to fracture.

21 bills

The BC government passed 21 bills focused on economic development and core issues that have been the trademark of the BC NDP government since 2017. Some highlights include:

• Bill 17: Intimate Images Statutes Amendment Act – Strengthens protection against non-consensual distribution of intimate images. (Royal Assent October 30)
• Bill 19: Schools Amendment Act – Expands access to childcare on school properties and removes barriers for school boards hosting licensed programs. (Royal Assent October 30)
• Bill 20: Construction Prompt Payment Act – Ensures contractors, subcontractors, and vendors are paid promptly. (Royal Assent November 27)
• Bill 25: Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act – Advances housing supply initiatives, expands multi-unit housing options, enables First Nations to regulate STRs, and reduces parking requirements. (Royal Assent November 27)
• Bill 31, Energy Statutes Amendment Act – Enables expedited construction of the Northwest Transmission Line. (Royal Assent November 27)

100 extortion cases

During 2025, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of extortion cases in the City of Surrey. Surrey Police say there are 100 cases of extortion, often targeting people from the South Asian community, including small business owners. As a result of this growing threat, Eby and Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger held a summit on the issue in late November.

Starting with threats to get money, the crimes have escalated to intimidation, shootings, arson, or property damage if demands are not met.

So far, seven people have been charged with extortion related crimes following investigations from the BC Extortion Task Force.

Surrey is a strategically important city and electoral results there can mean the difference between victory and defeat in a provincial election. In 2024, veteran MLA Garry Begg won his Surrey-Guilford seat by a mere 22 votes and three other NDP incumbents, Jinny Sims, Rachna Singh and Mike Starchuk, were defeated.

Eby does not want history to repeat itself and has decided to take ownership of this very serious issue.

250 ER or Hospital Closures

During the fall session, Health Minister Josie Osborne was often on her feet, answering questions about emergency room closures across BC resulting from a shortage of doctors and nurses.

According to the Union of Ambulance and Paramedics of BC, there have been 250 temporary hospital and emergency room closures this year. Almost daily, Conservative MLAs have peppered the Health Minister about closures and what she plans to do about them.

Despite significant efforts to train and recruit more doctors and nurses, the health care shortages that were only made worse by the COVID-19 health crisis have yet to be solved.

11.9-billion-dollar deficit

In its second quarter report released during session, Finance Minister Brenda Bailey announced that the BC government’s projected deficit for 2025-26 is $11.9 billion. While about $400 million lower than the deficit projected in the first quarter, BC is in a precarious financial position.

In one of his best efforts of the session on Tuesday, Rustad focused on the fact that the BC government is spending billions on interest payments at a time when public services are going wanting.

In short, the BC government has a growing list of challenges and very little fiscal capacity to address them.

What is Next?

A New Year normally means a new Throne Speech in February and budget shortly after that which must continue to address the economic fallout of the Trump tariffs and on-going fiscal pressures resulting from the economic slowdown.

But the Conservative chaos will have a significant impact on BC politics in 2026.

BC Conservatives will be choosing a new leader in 2026, with the increasingly strident and populist OneBC unlikely to fade away any time soon.

This uncertainty opens the opportunity for Eby to call an election to attempt to increase the size of his one-seat majority while the centre-right coalition is divided and new Green Party Leader Emily Lowan is still introducing herself to British Columbians.

While Eby has the upper hand, and a BC NDP ledger sheet with $9 million in assets, more than sufficient to run a full campaign at a time when other parties are broke, the governing party has a series of vulnerabilities that may also give him cause to wait.

In particular, the controversy surrounding a lands claims ruling by the BC Supreme Court earlier this year affecting the City of Richmond has created uncertainty that is never helpful to a governing party considering a trip to the polls.

Another new factor is the recent MOU signed by Prime Minister Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith that would see the construction of a bitumen pipeline to BC’s North Coast. While the pipeline will undoubtedly be a question of much debate over the next several years, realistically, it will largely be determined by coastal First Nations, who remain opposed to the pipeline and any changes to the current oil tanker ban.

The BC government is also in negotiations with teachers and nurses following a strike this fall with the BCGEU. Those deals must be settled before an election.

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