Premier of British Columbia David Eby used his appearance on British Columbia New Democrats convention to highlight several resource projects while saying the federal ban on tanker traffic off British Columbia's northern coast will remain in place.
Eby promised Saturday that British Columbia will turn its natural resources into the wealth needed to “maintain strong public services for future generations,” citing several projects his government is pursuing.
These include the North Coast Transmission Line, designed to power mining and LNG projects in northwestern British Columbia, with Eby calling the line “one of the biggest and most transformative opportunities” in a century.
He said the nation-building project, which Prime Minister Mark Carney submitted to Ottawa this week for fast-track review, would support new industries while “creating 10,000 good jobs with less pollution.”
Nearly 83 percent of delegates attending the convention later expressed their support for Eby without asking for a leadership review.
Of the 740 delegates who voted, 609 opposed the review of Eby's leadership. Two years ago the corresponding result was just over 93 percent.
Earlier this year, Eby said he would call a snap election if provincial transmission line legislation was stopped or delayed, and he repeated that commitment when he spoke to reporters after his convention speech.
Delegates at the event passed a resolution that calls on the federal government to maintain a federal ban on oil tankers off British Columbia's north coast and to speed up construction of the North Shore Transmission Line.
Eby noted that lifting the tanker ban would jeopardize the “coalition of support” among First Nations and northern communities for various resource projects in the area.
“This is the foundation of a huge amount of economic opportunity in this country and this province right now,” Eby said.
Conservative MP Trevor Halford, who attended the convention as an observer, noted that Eby's speech did not address the Cowichan Tribes, public safety and extortion, long hospital wait times and cuts to elder care costs.
“I think it's great that this NDP government claims to have founded a religion in resource development in our province,” he said. While Halford said he fully supported the direction, he said the current government was “late to the game”.
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Eby, who entered the main conference room to the song “Golden” from the South Korean hit movie “KPop Demon Hunters,” spoke for about 30 minutes and received several standing ovations, peppering his speech with references to the importance of unions and the measures his government has taken to strengthen them.
“I don’t need to tell our friends in the labor movement that we don’t always see eye to eye on everything,” Eby said. “But I can promise you this: Even when the going gets tough, we will always stay true to our values. We will never, ever deny you your fundamental charter rights to organize and strike using the notwithstanding clause.”
Eby said during his speech that British Columbia is at a “dangerous moment in history” with rising authoritarianism and Canada's sovereignty and economy under direct attack from U.S. President Donald Trump.
But if British Columbia finds itself at a “pivot point” between “an old order that is fading and a new one that is yet to be defined,” he said, it too has what it takes to build a stronger, more secure future for all.
Delegates also called on the province to build ferries in Canada and give priority to shipyards in British Columbia. The resolution, supported in particular by the British Columbia Federation of Labor and the BC Construction Trade, follows British Columbia FerriesThe decision to contract with a shipyard owned by the Chinese Communist government to build four new large ships, with BC Ferries citing costs and a lack of local capacity for the decision.
Brynn Bourke, executive director of BC Building Trade, said the province's shipping industry has reached what she called a “tipping point” and pointed to the policy support the shipping industries in Germany and Poland are receiving from their governments.
Rob Ashton, president of the International Longshore Workers Union of Canada and a federal NDP leadership candidate, said if Germany can build its own ferries, “why the hell can't” Canada do the same, drawing loud applause from delegates, most of whom supported the resolution.
Eby told reporters his government is working hard to revive the shipbuilding industry and is “pressing hard” on Ottawa to attract new defense spending announced in the latest federal budget.
“This additional capacity will allow us to operate civilian vessels such as ferries, and our goal is to have the next round of ferries built right here at home in British Columbia,” he said.
Conservative Leader John Rustad said in a statement that the ferry contract had become the “defining symbol” of government arrogance and detachment and said keeping the contract in British Columbia could create thousands of good-paying jobs.
Delegates supported a resolution introduced by Eby himself to “maximize benefits for the people of British Columbia by negotiating a return on investment for the people in the form of public equity.”
Eby said more details would be released, but noted that the equity concept would give the government an additional tool to deliver benefits to the public.
There was also a tribute on Saturday to Eby's predecessor, John Horgan, who died aged 60 on November 12, 2024.
Forest Minister Ravi Parmar, who currently represents much of Horgan's old riding, opened the tribute with a story about his meeting with Horgan when Parmar was attending primary school.
“John came to my fifth-grade class a while back and let’s just say he made an impression on me,” Parmar said. “I didn’t know much about politics back then, but I knew John was the one who showed up.”
The congratulations concluded with an image of Horgan, a fan of the sci-fi franchise “Star Trek,” holding a Vulcan salute.
