Doerkson signals Conservatives would fix strained province-city relationship on housing
Conservative leader says provincial government has overreached with bills imposing housing policy on municipalities; municipalities have pushed back hard.
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Lorne Doerkson, the Conservative Party of B.C. leader, said the relationship between the provincial government and municipalities needs substantial repair on the housing front.
"The reality is there is a very strained relationship between this current government and the municipalities in this province and I think that we've got to get that to a far better place," Doerkson said while campaigning in Surrey on October 7 in Newton.
Doerkson pointed to bills that have imposed housing requirements on municipalities without their consent. "There have been bills that have imposed things of course on municipalities that those groups have pushed back very hard on," he said. "Ultimately, it's not Victoria's place to tell Terrace where they should put housing and things like that."
The comments reflect ongoing tension between the provincial government and local governments over who should make decisions about where and how to build housing. Doerkson's criticism suggests the Conservatives, if elected, would give municipalities more control over local development policy rather than having provincial mandates override local decisions.
The B.C. election is scheduled for October 24.
The facts
Who is Lorne Doerkson?
Lorne Doerkson is the leader of the Conservative Party of B.C.
When is the B.C. election?
The B.C. election is scheduled for October 24, 2026.
What is Doerkson's position on provincial housing bills?
Doerkson says the provincial government has overreached by imposing housing requirements on municipalities without their consent, and argues that Victoria should not dictate local housing policy to cities like Terrace.
