BC War Room - Ep. 2: It's The Economy, Stupid.

Episode 2 of BC War Room, with Michael Gardiner and Azim Jiwani, took up a day when both leaders promised to double resource production: David Eby on critical minerals and Lorne Doerkson on LNG.

Jiwani said Doerkson's promise is the more achievable because the NDP has already paved the way for much of it, and called his willingness to remove emission caps a big win. Gardiner said the NDP is already on track to take production from 14 million tonnes a year to 48 million, more ambitious than Doerkson's pledge, and said Doerkson's commitment to reduce environmental standards plays into Eby's hands. Jiwani disagreed: "people trust the conservatives more on jobs, on the economy and on resource development", and voters want speed and action.

On candidates, Gardiner said the snap election has compressed vetting that used to take six to eight weeks into a few days. Jiwani said the Conservatives learned lessons from 2024 and this year's pool is stronger.

Jiwani said Eby appearing with Mark Carney at an LNG Canada announcement was potentially an inappropriate look during an election but helps him with suburban switch voters. Jiwani said the polls suggest Doerkson has done enough to win federal Liberal swing voters; Gardiner said "British Columbians don't know Doerkson yet" and don't know his caucus.

The issue of the day was what Jiwani described as Eby's proposed 2% tax on new condos unsold after a year. Jiwani cited a Public Opinion Canada survey in which 48% opposed the tax and 31% supported it, and said it was not the winning issue Eby had hoped for. Gardiner said Eby has a strong record on bringing rents down but could have explained the tax better.

Gardiner said the NDP will keep up its Trump attacks because "they want to make this election about stability versus chaos." Jiwani: "I don't think it's going to stick."

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