Ever since it was barely re-elected, the BC NDP government has promised a renewed focus on growing the economy, creating jobs and generating new sources of revenue to backstop overwhelmed core services like health care and education.
So it is perhaps surprising to hear that since the Oct. 19 election, no cabinet ministers, nor the premier himself, have responded to requests to sit down and hear out a series of increasingly urgent concerns from the province’s top business leaders.
The absence left open a political opportunity for the new Opposition BC Conservative party, which seized upon the issue Tuesday to trumpet that it had sent not one, not two, but nine MLAs to a meeting with business groups in Vancouver.
“I think it’s quite notable we’ve made the effort to put together nine critics to go and meet with those folks and establish a relationship and get down to work on our approach to supporting private sector job growth,” said Gavin Dew, the new Conservative critic for jobs, the economy, development and innovation.
“It’s equally notable the NDP has not responded, and is totally silent, as to any indication of how they intend to shift direction.”
Premier David Eby has repeatedly said he heard economic growth was a key concern of voters in the October election, and the issue is tied hand-in-hand with cost-of-living help and affording expansion to key services.
“It's about making sure that communities are strong and safe and that we're growing the economy in a way that everybody feels that in our province,” Eby said Nov. 18, upon swearing in his cabinet. “That is the consistent set of priorities for every single minister.”
And yet, two weeks later, none of the ministers responsible for economic growth have responded to a meeting request from the so-called “G7” of B.C.’s business community — the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, B.C. Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of B.C., Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Mining Association of B.C., Council of Forest Industries, and Independent Contractors and Businesses Association.
The groups issued a letter calling on all parties to prioritize the “deeply concerning” deterioration of the B.C. economy.
“British Columbia’s economy is falling behind, and many sectors are faced with deteriorating performance and job losses,” read the letter. “The province has lost 12,400 manufacturing jobs since 2017, and the lack of investment in the sector is ‘nearing crisis levels,’ according to the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME).
“Forestry has shed over 10,000 direct jobs in just four years and hundreds of millions of dollars of lost investment.
“Zooming out, B.C. has seen effectively no growth in private sector employment between 2019 and 2023. This is unprecedented and unsustainable.”
That concern includes an almost $9-billion projected provincial deficit this year, record debt levels, two credit downgrades and unsustainable government spending, the groups said.
BCBC president Laura Jones said the Opposition Conservatives attended “a very nice introductory meeting” with business leaders.
“They were very fast,” Jones said of the reply to the letter. “It’s rare you get a response that quickly to a letter like that, post-election. I think that says something.”
The premier did reach out to some in the business community following a call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to place 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports.
Yet it was a reactive meeting to an emerging crisis, not the proactive meeting about economic growth the industry has been seeking.
“I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed we haven’t heard from them yet, but I would say I am looking forward to hearing from them soon,” Jones said of the government.
New Jobs Minister Diana Gibson said in a statement she has “scheduled an introductory meeting with the signatories of the letter and looks forward to those discussions.” By then, though, it will likely be closing in on a month since she took a job that’s supposed to be focused entirely on economic growth and jobs.
The delay is leading to increased criticism that the BC NDP appears in no hurry to take action on the items its speaking points profess to be urgent.
The Globe and Mail published a scathing editorial on Tuesday about Eby’s refusal to recall the legislature until February, which has left voters without a functioning parliament since May.
That’s notably slower than other provinces, does not align with Eby’s stated promise to act quickly on the concerns of voters, and seems mainly focused on closing a behind-the-scenes deal with the BC Greens to ensure his hold on power, concluded the paper.
“But courting the Greens is not the priority for British Columbians, and that should not be getting in the way moving forward after such a long period in limbo,” read the editorial.
It concluded with the phrase: “Mr. Eby needs to get on with it.”
Advice that could apply to the economy too. That is, if the re-elected NDP is actually serious about doing what they say.
Rob Shaw has spent more than 16 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for Glacier Media. He is the co-author of the national bestselling book A Matter of Confidence, host of the weekly podcast Political Capital, and a regular guest on CBC Radio.
