The only televised leaders' debate of the BC campaign is behind us, and on Day 24 of the election, Michael Gardiner and Azim Jiwani were joined by Ravi Kahlon, former Minister of Health and Minister of Housing and MLA for Delta North, who is not on the ballot this time, to sort out who won the room.
Hours before the debate, the NDP released its costings: a deficit of about $12 billion by 2028-29, paid for in part by asking the top 4% of earners to pay more. Eby carried those numbers on stage and asked where $5 billion in Conservative promises would come from, with the Conservative platform still unpublished.
Kahlon called it a clear win for the premier, who he said was polished and consistent, and argued Lorne Doerkson missed a chance to show voters a plan. Jiwani disagreed. He said Doerkson achieved his goal of coming across as normal, relatable and non-threatening, and that Emily Lowan was the night's surprise, making a persuasive progressive case that could cost the NDP. Both Kahlon and Gardiner questioned Lowan's choice to name proportional representation as her top priority when voters are focused on affordability.
On healthcare, Kahlon said Doerkson's $50 million pledge for rural hospitals would not touch the deeper problems behind closures. Looking ahead, he said Doerkson needs to get off script, while Eby should spend the final days in battleground ridings talking about healthcare. At the door, he said, early anger over the election call has faded, replaced by worries about gas, groceries and ICBC. Kahlon also spoke candidly about stepping away.
Family comes first, he said, and he has no regrets unless the housing reforms he championed are torn up. What he needs next, he told his son, is purpose and pressure. His advice for the next health minister: connect patient data so paramedics and hospitals can see a patient's history.
On housing, he defended Bill 44 and urged the industry to work with government on the building code rather than swing policy back and forth.
With no clean winner and no clear loser, the parties now turn to fundraising asks, new offers and new attacks as advance polls open Friday.
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