2024 BC Election: What the parties are promising in the Fraser Valley

We now know what BC’s main political parties have planned for the Fraser Valley.

With just days to go before British Columbians head to the polls, the province’s three major parties have all released their campaign platforms. (While the BC NDP and the BC Greens announced their full platforms earlier this month, the BC Conservatives were rolling theirs out in stages. The final platform announcement was made over Thanksgiving.)

The parties all promise improved transit, better flood protections, and updated healthcare—with their own variations on how to get that done. Although most of these promises are from a BC-wide perspective, there are a few Fraser Valley-specific projects the parties have identified in their platforms.

Find what each party promised in each category below

Transportation | Flood prevention | Healthcare | Education | Housing | Agriculture | Full platform breakdowns

Find each party’s full platform here: BC NDP | BC Conservatives | BC Greens

For more Fraser Valley election content—including candidate questionnaires, links to our real-time results pages, and how to vote—check out our local election hubs: Chilliwack and beyond | Abbotsford and Mission | Langley

Transportation

Both the BC NDP and the BC Conservatives have made a significant number of promises to improve transportation, and especially transit, in the Fraser Valley. (The BC Greens transit promises are all provincewide, with the exception of one Vancouver Island-specific project.)

Both the BC NDP and the BC Conservatives have pledged to bring regional rail to the Fraser Valley. The BC NDP have said they would create a new rail service working jointly with CP in an effort to provide cleaner, more efficient transit. (CP is now called CPKC after its merger with Kansas City Southern, which took place long before the BC NDP unveiled their platform. You can read more about the merger here.)

The BC Conservatives, on the other hand, are simply promising to develop a business case to analyze regional rail between Chilliwack, Abbotsford, the Langley SkyTrain, and Surrey.

The Fraser Valley Current has written extensively about some of the challenges of creating a regional rail system in the Fraser Valley, whether it uses CPKC track, the old Interurban line, or a brand new railway. You can read more about those challenges here.

The parties also have other priorities for transit. In addition to creating a regional rail system, the BC NDP have also promised to extend the West Coast Express to Chilliwack—something that will likely be incredibly tricky, as we have reported on before. The BC NDP have also said they would create a rapid bus service on expanded lanes for Highway 1, and complete the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain. (That is currently under construction, and expected to be complete by 2028.)

The BC NDP are also promising to connect Maple Ridge and Langley via 200th Street and the Golden Ears Bridge, although the party did not explain how that connection would be made—whether it would be a bus, rapid bus, or other form of transit.

Outside of transit, the parties are also promising some transportation infrastructure upgrades. Both the BC NDP and the BC Conservatives say they will expand Highway 1 out to Chilliwack. The BC Conservatives have promised six-lanes to Chilliwack. The BC NDP have promised to move forward with its existing Highway 1 Corridor Improvement program, which aims to widen the highway to Chilliwack and add climate resiliency measures.

Flood prevention

All three parties have promised some flood mitigation in BC, although the platforms vary on how specific they get with their promises for the Fraser Valley. As we have reported in the past, flood prevention in Sumas Prairie will likely be extremely costly and complicated. Discussions are currently underway with the United States on how to best prevent Nooksack River overflow, and there are competing ideas on the best way to prevent water from backing up into Sumas Prairie when the Fraser River is high.

The BC NDP have promised to work on flood prevention in Sumas Prairie by integrating flood mitigation measures into their Highway 1 expansion plans, although the platform itself does not provide more details. When the Current interviewed Chilliwack candidate Dan Coulter (then the minister of state for transit and infrastructure) in late September, he said it wasn’t clear how flood mitigation would fit into the highway expansion yet.

The BC Conservatives have promised to renew flood infrastructure so the 2021 floods don’t happen again. The platform does not specify what that renewal would look like, although it does say the party would establish permanent flood protection in Sumas Prairie, and other high risk agricultural areas.

The BC Greens did not specifically mention Sumas Prairie or the Fraser Valley in their disaster prevention and management plans. The party did say they would fund and implement the BC Flood Strategy by 2027 to protect floodplain communities and agricultural land from flooding risks. The strategy says BC should participate in international initiatives for the Nooksack and Sumas watersheds.

Healthcare

The three parties have offered limited Fraser Valley-specific pledges related to healthcare, although a number of BC-wide promises touch on topics the Fraser Valley Current has covered extensively—like health authority spending.

Both the BC NDP and the BC Greens promised to change how the province’s health authorities work together, in an effort to reduce overspending. As the Current reported in September, BC’s health authorities have been unable to reign in their spending for years, despite plans to cut back their costs. Much of this spending has been on operational costs related to acute care and increased worker pay in an attempt to recruit staff, although corporate spending is also high.

The BC NDP said the health authority system was not as efficient as it could be. The party said it would complete a full review of the health authorities, with a goal of driving down spending and streamlining both overhead and administration costs. They said the health authorities should provide a “regional lens” without duplicating bureaucracy.

The BC Greens, on the other hand, said they would potentially create a single health authority for the province. (The First Nations Health Authority would still exist, but focus primarily on addressing systemic racism and improving Indigenous life expectancy.)

Other healthcare promises from all three parties focus on timely care for patients.

The BC NDP pledged to build more urgent and primary care centres in high demand areas. Although this is not a Fraser Valley-specific promise, the party has also promised to increase the hours for existing care centres, extending into the evening and overnight. There are currently four of these care centres in the Fraser Valley, the most recent opening in Langley this May.

The BC Greens, on the other hand, spoke against the urgent and primary care centre model in their platform. Instead, they said they would begin establishing Dogwood Health Centres, which would focus on integrated primary care. That plan would see one Dogwood Care Centre in each riding, although the platform doesn’t specify when that would happen. In the Fraser Valley, that would mean three care centres in Langley, three in Abbotsford and Mission, two in Chilliwack, and potentially one in the eastern Fraser Valley or Fraser Canyon.

The BC Conservatives outlined a number of specific healthcare projects in their platform, although only one is in the Fraser Valley. The party promised to expand Mission Memorial Hospital with a new maternity ward.

The BC NDP did not identify specific hospital projects in their platform, but have made several announcements relating to future upgrades at Langley Memorial Hospital.

Education

The only Fraser Valley-specific education promise was from the BC NDP, who said they will build more than 20,000 new student spaces at 58 schools in BC’s fastest growing communities. Although the party didn’t specify exactly where all of these 58 projects would take place, Mission was identified as one of the locations.

(You can read more about all three parties’ general education platforms in the links at the bottom of this story.)

Housing

None of the three major parties saw any Fraser Valley-specific housing promises in their platforms. However, both the BC NDP and the BC Conservatives made pledges related to hot topics in Fraser Valley housing.

(The BC Greens made a number of housing promises, but not on issues that have been reported by the Fraser Valley Current recently. You can read more about all three parties’ general housing platforms in the links at the bottom of this story.)

The BC NDP said they would prioritize affordable and non-market housing near new SkyTrain stations. In the Fraser Valley, this would mean prioritizing those housing types in Langley City and the Township of Langley.

The BC Conservatives have said they would take action on Bill 44 and Bill 47—two recently passed laws that dictate how development should happen in the province’s municipalities. Bill 47 is focused on building up housing in areas around transit hubs like SkyTrain stations or certain bus depots. The BC Conservatives promised to amend the bill to ensure each transit oriented area provides space for grocery stores and small businesses, as well as housing.

Bill 44, on the other hand, is focused on increasing housing density across municipalities. It has made it so higher density homes can be built on single-family lots, and has removed public hearings for developments that fit the community’s Official Community Plan. (You can read more about how this has affected the FVRD here. You can read more about what Chilliwack’s mayor has to say about Bill 44 in relation to the election here.)

The BC Conservatives are promising to repeal Bill 44, although the party said they would support municipalities that still want to implement its recommendations.

Agriculture

None of the parties had specific Fraser Valley promises related to agriculture. However, as much of the Fraser Valley is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, many of the parties’ major farming promises could have a significant impact on the valley as a whole.

The BC Conservatives have promised to review the Agricultural Land Commission, to make sure farmers have “cost-effective and timely access to the supply chain for processing, distribution, and retail.” The platform did not explain what that review would look like. The party also promised a number of changes to how farmers access the market, including expanding the Buy BC program, increasing local food processing, and opening international markets. The BC Conservatives have also promised to compensate Agricultural Land Reserve property owners for restricting their property rights.

The BC NDP have promised to develop a Provincial Agri-Food Competitiveness and Growth strategy with agriculture stakeholders, First Nations, and local government. The party also promised to inventory ALR land, expand the agricultural Extreme Weather Preparedness fund, and identify new opportunities for food processing. The BC NDP have also promised to increase local food processing, top up the perennial crop renewal program, and match young farmers with farmland.

The BC Greens have promised to make food security part of the Agricultural Land Commission’s mandate, and to restrict and regulate foreign ownership of ALR land. The party also promised to provide $90 million for a publicly owned agricultural land bank that would be available for new farmers to lease, and potentially explore a basic income guarantee for farmers.

Full platform breakdowns

News organizations across British Columbia have been working to analyze and compare platform promises. Instead of duplicating their hard work, we’re going to share some of the most useful platform comparisons we’ve found.

These stories take a provincial perspective to promises that include repealing SOGI-123 (BC Conservatives), increasing the seniors supplement to $149 per month (BC NDP), and making all transit free (BC Greens).

Overall | Climate and Environment | Education | Healthcare 

Overall

CBC has an interactive platform that lets you compare promises on issues like the economy, education, reconciliation, and public safety. Each party’s platform is distilled into one succinct paragraph per topic.

The Vancouver Sun has also published an overview of the platforms, focusing on issues like affordability, the overdose crisis, the cost of living, and infrastructure.

CTV Vancouver has an easy to navigate drop-down menu of platform comparisons on six topics.

Climate and Environment

The Narwhal took an in-depth look at the carbon tax, LNG, nuclear energy, old-growth forests—and what each party had to say about those topics.

The Narwhal also looked at energy-specific promises.

Political science professor Kathryn Harrison analyzed the party’s climate action promises in an article for The Conversation, noting that the parties have significant differences in their platforms.

Education

The Tyee took a look at the parties’ education pledges, diving into portable promises, mental health support, and changes to the BC Conservatives’ platform after its announcement.

The Vancouver Sun took to the streets to ask parents, teachers, and school trustees what they thought of the promises outlined in each platform.

Healthcare

The Tyee has analyzed the parties’ healthcare promises, which focus on building on successes (BC NDP) and incentivizing public-private partnerships (BC Conservatives).

Global News has also taken a look at healthcare in the three platforms, and their analysis includes videos of announcements by the party leaders.

Transit

CBC took a look at transit and transportation promises early in the election campaign, noting that all three parties wanted to expand transit, rail, and bus service across the province.