BC War Room - Ep. 4: BC's Favourite Mayor.

Both of British Columbia's main parties are promising to grow their way out of the provincial deficit. Today's War Room special guest, Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, isn't buying it.

"The reality is that we would have to have economic growth that would surpass what you saw in China in the 1990s," West told the BC War Room on Day 11 of the campaign. "It's not being honest with British Columbians."

West, who chairs the TransLink Mayors' Council, said the deficit should be one of the defining issues of the election, and that neither the NDP nor the Conservatives have put forward a credible plan to deal with it. Debt payments are already constraining basic services, he argued, and voters know it. "Sometimes if you want to be a leader, you can't just tell people what they want to hear," he said. "You have to tell them what they need to hear."

That doesn't mean slashing and burning. West rejected the idea that the only options are the status quo or deep cuts, pointing instead to programs launched to solve a problem 50 years ago that have never been reassessed. "Too rarely does government say, 'Okay, let's call a timeout and assess whether this is still a priority,'" he said.

On the campaign itself, West called the opening stretch "a real episode of Survivor," with the NDP absorbing a visceral public reaction to the snap election call. He thinks that is settling, but said what the election is actually about remains an open question. He did see one positive: both parties are now competing over who can best grow the economy and put the province's resources to work.

What's missing, he said, is any explanation of how headline pledges, such as the NDP's promise to double mineral production, translate into a better life for working British Columbians. "We need more meat on the bone."

West also weighed in on a recent court decision striking down drug legislation, calling it the latest in a series of rulings out of step with the public. Unelected judges writing policy creates "one hell of a quagmire," he said, noting that some have raised the notwithstanding clause in response.

Asked about a recent column describing him as "normal," West said there are worse things to be called, but that the fact it was worth remarking on shows how far politics has drifted toward the ideological and highly partisan.

Following the discussion on political framing and leadership, the episode highlighted new Public Opinion Canada survey data testing whether BC Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson’s interim status is impacting voters at the ballot box.

The survey reveals that four in five British Columbians (82.1%) say Doerkson’s status as interim leader does not concern them and will have zero impact on their voting decision. Only 17.9% said the issue impacts their vote. The sentiment holds across party lines: 79.4% of past NDP voters, 88.4% of past Conservative voters, and 67.1% of Green voters indicated that Doerkson's interim title is a non-issue.

Stay tuned to the BC War Room with new episodes dropping every weekday morning until election day.

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