British Columbia's party leaders have jousted over affordability in their first and only radio debate of the province's election campaign.
The debate brings together NDP Leader David Eby, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad and Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau for the first time on the campaign trail ahead of the Oct. 19 vote.
Eby said cost-of-living issues have been "challenging" for households and that his proposed middle-class tax cut was aimed at driving down costs.
Rustad agreed that affordability was the top issue in the campaign, and asked "why suddenly now" was Eby talking about tax cuts.
BC is growing faster than ever - John Rustad is not counting all of the people who are moving here. No wonder he wants to scrap David Eby's plan to build 300,000 middle-class homes and make a big health care cut. #bcpoli
— BC NDP (@bcndp) October 2, 2024
Action for who? Under David Eby's weak leadership, the radical BC NDP have made our communities less safe, and have led to skyrocketing deaths from addiction.
— Conservative Party of BC (@Conservative_BC) October 2, 2024
It's time for Common Sense Change #bcpoli: https://t.co/y8yOGNwS1m pic.twitter.com/8cgOhasAdS
Furstenau said it was "fascinating" that neither Eby nor Rustad wanted to talk about the issues that she says drive unaffordability in the province, including "financialized" housing and a "backwards-looking" fossil fuel industry.
The hour-long debate is being hosted by Mike Smyth on Vancouver radio station CKNW.
The only televised debate of the B.C. election campaign will be held on Oct. 8.
The party leaders will be back together again later Wednesday at an event with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade where they will speak with business leaders.
The leaders' encounters come as Rustad has been told by a campaign working to end violence against women that organizers are withdrawing their permission for him to wear a moose hide pin meant to show support.
Moose Hide Campaign co-founder Raven Lacerte says in a letter that elected leaders have a unique level of responsibility to uphold basic standards of respect, "including respect for Indigenous Peoples and those along the gender continuum," and that Rustad is "not upholding these standards."
The Conservative campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the letter.
