The Discourse asked community members what issues are most important to them in the 2024 provincial election, ending on the evening of Oct. 19, and housing ranked at the top with nearly 70 per cent of respondents in Cowichan identifying it as a priority.
We reached out to candidates in the Cowichan Valley, Ladysmith-Oceanside and Juan de Fuca-Malahat ridings with questions about housing. The questions were derived from reader responses to our survey in an effort to bring your questions directly to candidates.
Almost all candidates responded except Jonathan Coleman (unaffiliated, Cowichan Valley), John Koury (Conservative Party of BC, Cowichan Valley) and Marina Sapozhnikov (Conservative Party of BC, Juan de Fuca-Malahat). The Discourse made multiple attempts to reach these candidates.
Koury, who answered a phone call from The Discourse, said he would not be able to provide responses by deadline. When asked if any responses could be expected at all, he said “I’m out knocking on doors and meeting the people at their doorsteps.” A text message to Koury noting that questions came directly from community members and clarifying that he will not be responding to them went unanswered.
The Discourse will update this story with responses if they come in.
Here’s what the parties are saying about housing
The Conservative Party of BC’s housing strategy focuses on building more homes and speeding up rezoning and building permits. John Rustad is touting a $1,500 rebate beginning in 2026 for renters and owners. The party also plans on enacting Presumption of Compliance laws in the interest of speeding up the work of engineers and architects. The laws, the party says, will make sure that municipal and provincial regulators “must presume that B.C.’s professionals can perform and peer-review their work in accordance with the rules.”
The BC NDP is allocating $1.29 billion to finance up to 40 per cent of home purchases for middle income households, CBC News reports, and the party’s platform includes encouraging municipalities to build more market rental housing, along with waiving property taxes for purpose-built rentals. The party also has plans to expand its speculation tax, crack down on home flipping and focus on priority builds for lower-income housing and rental construction.
The BC Greens platform includes providing $1.5 billion annually to construct 26,000 non-market housing units, 3,000 of which designated for Indigenous Peoples. The platform also includes preventing landlords from “dramatically increasing” rents after a tenancy ends, and increasing funding for the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters and the Rental Assistance Program. The party also plans to address the commodification of housing, and look into implementing a tax on Real Estate Investment Trusts.
Here’s what we asked local candidates:
Candidate responses have been lightly edited for grammar.
Note: Coleman and Koury responded to the Cowichan Valley Citizen and shared some responses related to housing. In it, Coleman notes that affordable housing is a big challenge and suggests eliminating the transfer tax for first time homebuyers and keeping a portion of the tax for subsequent buyers within municipalities to fund new home construction.
Koury points to removing the carbon tax and other tax relief measures, saying these actions will provide immediate relief to homeowners and renters. He also says the party plans to “cut red tape on industry and reduce home building-killing taxes and bureaucratic overreach that has compounded the price of housing.”
Independent Cowichan Valley candidate Eden Haythornthwaite provided a blanket response to the three questions asked.
Read it here
“We need non-market social housing and we need it now — built with money our governments can borrow much more economically than the private sector does and constructed as public works. Planned and created for everyone — built where people need to live and representing a principle of public luxury. These housing ventures will be useful long-term assets much as any school or hospital. That is what we need and there is no earthly reason we cannot have that apart from the maneuverings of thoughtless profit obsessed developers. Let us sidestep them. Our campaign calls for dignified, affordable housing for all working people supplied by government with constitutional guarantees!”
Conservative Ladysmith-Oceanside candidate Brett Fee also provided a blanket response to the questions.
Read it here
“The housing shortage is affecting many in the Cowichan Valley, including families, seniors and youth. I believe that a multi-faceted approach is needed. Encouraging various forms of housing, such as co-op, non-profit, tiny homes and mixed-use developments, could provide diverse and accessible solutions. It’s important to collaborate with local municipalities and stakeholders to explore land-use policies and streamline the approval process for new developments, while ensuring that new projects respect the community’s values and environment.
As housing prices rise, I recognize that many residents are feeling the strain. To make housing more affordable for low- and middle-income households, we need to address both supply and demand. Expanding housing stock while advocating for policies that can reduce barriers to home ownership, such as first-time homebuyer incentives and affordable rental units, will help more people secure housing.”
How will you address the housing shortage and help create more housing in the Cowichan Valley?
Cowichan Valley riding
Cammy Lockwood, BC Green Party
“I, along with the BC Greens, intend to create more housing by prioritizing non-market housing options like co-ops and nonprofits. We will advocate for stronger renter protections and vacancy control measures to prevent evictions. Our plan for the Cowichan Valley would include these principles, pushing for affordable housing initiatives to meet the needs of the local population.”
Debra Toporowski, BC NDP
“Everyone in B.C. should be able to afford a home in the community they love, and creating more housing supply is essential to achieving this. David Eby’s housing plan will build 300,000 new homes throughout the province. Restricting short-term rentals is turning thousands of units into long-term homes for people. And eliminating local government regulations and red tape blocking the construction of small multi-unit developments like townhouses, duplexes and triplexes is, according to experts, kickstarting the construction of hundreds of thousands of homes.”
Juan de Fuca-Malahat riding
David Evans, BC Green Party
“Safety and security are absolutely essential for anyone to be able to have a productive and fulfilling life. A place for your stuff, a warm and dry place to sleep without fear of harm — many of us take this for granted. We absolutely need more homes in the Cowichan Valley and across Juan de Fuca-Malahat and we need to be creative about how and where we make homes. We can not expect the for-profit construction industry to build below market housing so government needs to get involved.”
Dana Lajeunesse, BC NDP
“Housing is a pressing need for people across the province, including in the Cowichan Valley, and the BC NDP are working to provide over 300,000 units of housing for British Columbians. For people out near the Cowichan Valley, we have to make sure that growth includes infrastructure to keep up with new housing coming to the area, and as a local councillor, I believe I bring a good perspective to that conversation.”
Ladysmith-Oceanside riding
Laura Ferreira, BC Green Party
“Housing affordability is a major issue and the BC Greens have proposed a variety of measures to make it more affordable. Our focus will be to build non-market housing like co-ops and nonprofit housing. For renters, we will implement vacancy control between tenancies in order to protect renters and disincentivize evictions.”
Stephanie Higginson, BC NDP
“Housing is one of the top issues I hear about. The BC NDP has a Housing Action Plan that experts say creates 300,000 additional middle-class homes. The plan includes the elimination of red tape that has prevented the construction of small multi-unit developments like townhouses, duplexes and triplexes. This will kickstart the construction of hundreds of thousands of homes. The plan also includes making it easier to rent out secondary/basement suites. Housing construction is at a record high, and we can’t stop now. John Rustad and the BC Conservatives have a 20-year record of defending the status quo on housing.”
Adam Walker, Independent
“The housing crisis is hitting the Cowichan Valley, and the Island, hard. More people are moving here each year, but we haven’t built the housing to keep up. Too many workers can’t afford to live where they work, renters fear evictions and more people are couch-surfing or living in cars. We need real action: boosting funding for deeply affordable units, speeding up the residential tenancy branch to protect landlords and offering tax incentives to expand the rental market. And it’s time to explore building new communities and take the pressure off fast-growing areas like ours.”
Will you encourage various forms of housing (co-op, non-profit, tiny homes, etc.). If so, how? If not, why not?
Cowichan Valley riding
Cammy Lockwood, BC Green Party
“Yes, we will encourage diverse housing models such as co-ops, nonprofits, and tiny homes, which provide affordable alternatives. We would encourage zoning reforms and public land use for these initiatives.”
Debra Toporowski, BC NDP
“B.C.’s emerging factory home construction industry can build complete state-of-the-art, small-scale multi-unit homes in just 12 weeks. David Eby is committed to fueling B.C.’s factory home construction industry, so everyone from municipalities to multi-generational families can build quality small-scale multiunit housing more affordable on land they already own. We will also provide more land for non-market and co-op housing, build more homes on it and help nonprofits take care of those homes.”
Juan de Fuca-Malahat riding
David Evans, BC Green Party
“BC Greens endorse and encourage creative models of housing from co-ops and non-profits to ideas like Duncan’s Village that the province has learned so much from. About one third of B.C. residents are renters so to start, we would protect existing non-market or below market housing through vacancy control. Greens advocate for de-commodifying housing by supporting regulations bringing an end to REITs and we’d extend speculation and vacancy taxes to more communities investing in below market housing. There is so much the provincial government can do! Encourage the B.C. industry in prefab and modular construction, provide grants and loan guarantees to non-profit housing providers. There are low hanging fruit that previous governments have yet to pick.”
Dana Lajeunesse, BC NDP
“I am strongly committed to making sure people have homes they can afford in the places they love. The BC NDP’s Homes For People plan allows for new zoning laws that give people a lot of options. Allowing more multi-unit homes and fourplexes means that people will be able to build on their properties more easily to create some rental income or to create multi-generational households. The plan also supports more non-market housing, by providing more land for non-market and co-op housing, building more homes on it and helping nonprofits take care of those homes.”
Ladysmith-Oceanside riding
Laura Ferreira, BC Green Party
“Yes. The current housing supply is dominated by for profit buildings that are pushing people out of the buying market and [making] rent more expensive. Through zoning reforms and public land use we can build co-ops and nonprofits for affordable alternatives.”
Stephanie Higginson, BC NDP
“BC Builds is our new housing program that brings together government, municipalities, community organizations, non-profits and the private sector to find local solutions to local housing challenges. By working together to identify land, speed up development timelines and lower construction costs, BC Builds will help to deliver more homes that middle-income people can afford. The BC NDP will fuel the construction of more non-market housing, like co-ops and nonprofits, by providing more land for these homes as well as helping nonprofits take care of these homes.”
Adam Walker, Independent
“Yes. Tackling the housing crisis requires bold ideas. As MLA, I helped a manufactured home park group start a conversion to a co-op, showing how different models can work. We need legislation to protect manufactured homeowners with the right of first refusal when parks go up for sale. For tiny homes and RVs, we must amend the B.C. building code to regulate and encourage them, while working with local governments on zoning. As an independent MLA, having double the budget of party MLAs lets us collaborate directly with housing advocates and non-profits, applying for grants and driving affordable projects forward.”
Many people in the Cowichan Valley — including seniors, youth and families — are one paycheck away from losing their housing due to issues such as evictions, increased cost of rentals and home prices and lack of housing supply. What will you do to make the cost of housing more affordable and attainable for low- and middle-income households?
Cowichan Valley riding
Cammy Lockwood, BC Green Party
“Our goal is to create 26,000 units of non-market housing annually and implement vacancy control to prevent extreme rent hikes. We will expand rental assistance programs and invest in affordable housing projects to make homeownership and rentals attainable for low- and middle-income households.”
Debra Toporowski, BC NDP
“People in B.C. are paying too much for rent. In fact, 25 per cent of renters are spending more than half their monthly income on it. That is why the BC NDP has capped rent increases and is providing a $400 Renters Rebate. We’re protecting the affordable rentals we do have by buying buildings that would otherwise be redeveloped by real estate investors looking to make a quick buck. We are cracking down on standalone Airbnb’s, turning thousands more units into long-term rentals. We are fueling the construction of both market and non-market rentals, and it’s working — new rental construction is at a record high.”
Juan de Fuca-Malahat riding
David Evans, BC Green Party
“I kind of answered this one in the above question!”
Dana Lajeunesse, BC NDP
“Across the province, the BC NDP are building below-market rental housing that is benefiting seniors, individuals and families. As MLA, I’ll advocate for more below-market housing in communities in Juan de Fuca-Malahat and more economic development so people can spend more time living and working in the communities they love.”
Ladysmith-Oceanside riding
Laura Ferreira, BC Green Party
“Measures like vacancy control will prevent massive rent hikes between tenancies. BC Greens will prioritize building 26,000 units of non-market housing to ease the burden of entering the housing market.”
Stephanie Higginson, BC NDP
“The BC NDP will help open the door to first-time home buyers by reducing upfront costs of buying a home. Under our new program, 25,000 first time home buyers will pay 60 per cent of their unit’s price initially, with the remaining 40 per cent due only when they sell — or after 25 years — and their equity in the home has grown. The Rental Protection Fund protects existing rental housing so nonprofits are able to buy and protect rental housing for the long term. John Rustad’s approach is the same do-nothing approach that drove up housing prices in the first place.”
Adam Walker, Independent
“The affordability crisis has left too many a paycheck or two away from very difficult decisions. We need to expand shelter aid for senior renters (SAFER), build more deeply subsidized units and grow the BC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program to help those in need. But let’s not ignore the root problem: over the past seven years, the government hasn’t built enough homes to keep up with demand. We must boost supply without sacrificing the character of our communities. Replacing an affordable home with luxury units won’t solve anything. It’s time for real action that makes housing truly attainable for everyone.”
