On OCTOBER 19^th, make an informed choice and make your vote count.

BC is a Canadian outlier. It’s the only province with labour policies that shut good companies and workers out of many large-scale public projects. Contractors can’t bid on or build these projects unless their workers join the government’s favoured Building Trades Unions. That excludes 85% of BC construction workers who choose to affiliate with other unions, or none at all. This is a terrible piece of public policy that unfairly excludes talented people from major projects. It’s also anti-competitive, leading to fewer bids and higher costs on public projects, at a time when affordability should matter more than ever.

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The FACTS

Massive Cost Overruns

BC is the only province in Canada with overt labour policies that shut the vast majority of construction workers out of major public infrastructure projects. Since 2019, the NDP has funnelled billions of dollars in construction work to its favoured Building Trades Unions (BTUs), leading to massive cost overruns, at a time when British Columbians can least afford it.

Excluding Workers & Contractors

At the height of a labour shortage, 85% of the men and women who work in heavy civil construction in BC, are prevented from building many key public infrastructure projects that fall under the NDP’s regressive labour policies. They can’t build these projects unless they join the NDP-affiliated Building Trades Unions. Only contractors whose workers belong to the BTUs can bid on these large-scale public projects.

Wasting Public Tax Dollars

Several public projects that fall under the NDP’s anti-competitive labour policies are over budget and behind schedule. The cost of building the new Cowichan District Hospital for example, has increased by 63%. Restricting competition on public projects results in fewer bids and higher construction costs, leaving fewer funds for other priorities like building schools or hiring more doctors.

Curbing Labour Choice

Only members of select BTUs can work on major infrastructure projects like the Pattullo Bridge replacement, the Massey Tunnel replacement and Trans-Canada Highway widening. Both employment and training opportunities have been limited under NDP policies, which funnel public funding for training to BTU hiring halls.

Learn the KEY Issues

The NDP's labour policies are RECKLESS.

BC’s regressive labour policies are an affront to construction workers and contractors and an insult to all British Columbians. These policies are RECKLESS!

Restricts competition and shuts good workers and companies out of many large-scale public infrastructure projects.
Makes labour shortages worse.
Exacerbates massive project overruns that are costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. Restricting competition and access to labour + fewer bids and much higher costs.

The NDP’s labour policies have been a massive failure. There’s no excuse for shutting workers out of key public projects, or downplaying millions of dollars in project overruns at the public’s expense. For example: Originally the price tag for the Cowichan Hospital was 350 million, and now has reached 1.4 billion.

BC’s NDP government has made life far less affordable for British Columbians. At a time when many families are struggling to cover their rent or mortgages, the NDP sticks with labour policies that make building public infrastructure projects a lot more expensive.

The NDP is setting back workers.

No government should be strongarming workers into joining a certain union. For years the NDP has been telling 85% of the men and women who work in construction that they can’t build key public projects unless they join the minority Building Trades Unions. BC is the only province in Canada that does this. This is not a government that works for all workers or respects a worker’s right to join the union of his or her choice.

BC’s regressive labour policies have made labour shortages worse. Right now, at the height of a labour shortage, BC only allows 15% of its construction workforce to build certain large scale public projects. Training opportunities are restricted too, with millions in public training dollars channelled through BTU hiring halls. Restricting work and training opportunities is not the way to address one of Canada’s greatest challenges.

BC's NDP is out of touch with reality.

British Columbians can no longer afford a government that allows massive cost overruns on big public projects from the Pattullo Bridge Replacement to the Cowichan District Hospital. When projects cost more, fewer funds are available for other priorities from health care to new hospitals, from community centres to subways or paying down the province’s $8 billion deficit.

British Columbians and construction workers in particular, deserve a provincial government that treats everyone fairly, respects their hard-earned tax dollars, and works to control runaway infrastructure costs, rather than contribute to them. For example:

A recent research paper by the independent Cardus think tank found that the Cowichan District Hospital, which falls under the NDP’s regressive labour policies, has seen “some of the highest cost overruns among large infrastructure projects in the province.”
Cardus calls for a complete overhaul of these cynical, costly and outdated labour policies, and we couldn’t agree more.