Conservative Party of BC leader John Rustad says he has a plan to end the province's housing shortage and bring housing costs under control.
Details of a "Get BC Building" plan were announced at a Surrey condo construction site Friday (Sept. 27), on Ravine Road in the Surrey City Centre riding where Zeeshan Wahla is the Conservative candidate.
Hardhat-wearing construction workers stood behind Rustad as he promised to end the housing shortage, streamline approval processes, and deliver "the largest tax cut on housing in B.C.’s history."
Earlier in the week, on Sept. 23, Rustad kicked off the first full week of B.C. election campaigning with a promise to improve housing affordability, promising a provincial tax deduction of up $3,000 per month by 2029 for renters and mortgage holders starting in January 2026, with a monthly exemption of $1,500.
The so-called "Rustad Rebate" would provide tax relief of about $3.5 billion if universally applied to B.C.'s two million homes, he said.
Friday in Surrey, Rustad expanded on Conservative housing plans, including moves to speed up housing approvals at the provincial level, work with local governments where necessary and repeal "hidden" taxes on housing.
Rustad said he'd push to get development permits approved within six months, and building permits within six months. If cities fail to issue permits within these timelines, he said the provincial government would step in and issue them.
The party's "proactive planning" plan, meantime, would work with cities to “pre-zone” areas in advance, a move to eliminate delays caused by rezoning for each individual project. Rustad also pledged to bring in a "Presumption of Compliance policy," requiring cities "to trust certified and regulated professionals like engineers and architects to do their jobs without unnecessary bureaucratic interference, speeding up housing approvals."
The NDP talks about building homes, Rustad charged, "but their policies have made it impossible. We will cut the red tape, streamline approvals, and get BC building again.”
Rustad said B.C.'s average rent is $2,400 per month with the average mortgage around $2,900.
The Conservatives would also end "over-regulation" by "activist city planners who have inflated housing costs through endless design reviews and micromanagement that kills projects."
A Rustad government would introduce "real tax incentives for purpose-built rental housing," he said, and also promised a forensic audit of BC Housing "to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent on genuinely low-income housing, not wasted on politically connected non-profits."
Aaron Paul, who runs Black Maple Construction with his brother Ben, said he's seen how red tape and bureaucracy have turned a housing shortage into a full-blown housing crisis.
"Over the last seven years, construction costs have skyrocketed," Paul said at the announcement in Surrey. "The barriers, fee increases and taxes imposed by all levels of government make it almost impossible to deliver affordable housing.
"The Conservative commitment to work alongside municipalities like the City of Surrey and Township of Langley, to find solutions together for expediting approvals and empowering trusted developers to get projects moving faster, will bring meaningful and positive change to the housing industry here in B.C.," Paul added.
— with files from Wolf Depner
