You told us what matters. Here's how the parties measure up.
Between September 25 and 30, 2026, 6,049 BCGEU members took our election priorities survey. Here's what matters most to you as you head to the polls.
of members said “Cost of living, inflation and housing affordability” is their top priority
pledged to vote on October 24 and to find three people at their worksite to join them
members signed up to volunteer
On the report cardOther issues
Issues are ranked by weighted average. Bars show the share of members who chose each issue as their top priority.
Libraries, child care and highways maintenance are part of BCGEU's ongoing campaigns, and we've included them in the report card alongside the top three issues you identified.
Results reflect the views of members who took part. Weighted averages were used to rank the overall top three issues. A weighted average is an average where some numbers count more than others because they are assigned a higher level of importance or “weight.” In this survey, a respondent’s number one ranking for an issue was worth three points, a number two ranking was worth two points and a number three ranking was worth one point.
How each party is graded on the three top issues identified by BCGEU members and on our three current member-driven campaigns: libraries, child care and highways maintenance. Select an issue to see why each party got its grade.
| Issue | BC NDP | Conservative Party of BC | BC Green Party | OneBC | CentreBC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child care | Promises: A-PromisesRecord: B-Record | Promises: C-PromisesRecord: D+Record | Promises: APromisesRecord: BRecord | Promises: no public positionPromisesRecord: no public positionRecord | Promises: C+PromisesRecord: no public positionRecord |
| Cost of living, inflation and housing affordability | Promises: APromisesRecord: BRecord | Promises: D-PromisesRecord: DRecord | Promises: A-PromisesRecord: B-Record | Promises: FPromisesRecord: no public positionRecord | Promises: DPromisesRecord: no public positionRecord |
| Economy and jobs | Promises: A-PromisesRecord: BRecord | Promises: DPromisesRecord: FRecord | Promises: B+PromisesRecord: C+Record | Promises: FPromisesRecord: FRecord | Promises: CPromisesRecord: DRecord |
| Health care | Promises: A-PromisesRecord: B+Record | Promises: D+PromisesRecord: DRecord | Promises: A-PromisesRecord: BRecord | Promises: FPromisesRecord: no public positionRecord | Promises: C+PromisesRecord: no public positionRecord |
| Highways maintenance | Promises: no public positionPromisesRecord: ARecord | Promises: no public positionPromisesRecord: DRecord | Promises: no public positionPromisesRecord: B-Record | Promises: no public positionPromisesRecord: DRecord | Promises: no public positionPromisesRecord: DRecord |
| Libraries | Promises: A-PromisesRecord: BRecord | Promises: no public positionPromisesRecord: no public positionRecord | Promises: no public positionPromisesRecord: B-Record | Promises: no public positionPromisesRecord: no public positionRecord | Promises: no public positionPromisesRecord: no public positionRecord |
Each party gets two grades on every issue. Promises is what the party is committing to in this election or, if it hasn't spoken to an issue yet, its most recent public position. Record is what the party and its current MLAs have done, based on past votes, budgets, decisions and public statements. BCGEU's research team graded every party using the same rubric and publicly available evidence. Grades reflect evidence available as of Oct. 7, 2026.
We graded the five parties that held seats in the legislature when the election was called and are running candidates: the BC NDP, the BC Conservatives, the BC Greens, OneBC and CentreBC.
A plus or minus shows where a grade falls within its letter.
Parties keep making promises during a campaign, so we plan to review all five parties on the same schedule and update the report card on Oct. 15 and Oct. 22. Grades are final as of Oct. 22. Any changes are listed below with the date and the reason.
Promises made after Oct. 21 aren't graded, but we're tracking them here at BCGEU headquarters, and after the election we'll hold whoever forms government to account for commitments made to workers on their priority issues in this campaign.
Affordable, accessible child care lets parents work and gives kids a strong start. BCGEU members deliver child care and all working parents rely on it, and many know first-hand how hard it is to find affordable, quality spaces. B.C. made a commitment to deliver $10-a-day child care within ten years. Nine years later, we’ve fallen behind most other provinces across Canada. Tell candidates that it’s time to catch up!
The BCGEU is calling for continued investment in a child care system that is universal, affordable and quality. This means public funding, public management and compensating child care educators as valued professionals that we all depend upon.
The BC NDP was the first government to commit to $10aDay Child Care and the first province to sign an agreement with the federal government to expand this system. Its most recent position is Budget 2026, which paused enrolment of new providers in $10aDay for three years while setting aside $330 million over three years to stabilize existing programs (surreynowleader.com).
The NDP launched $10aDay and signed B.C.'s Canada-wide child care agreement with Ottawa in July 2021 (bcballot.ca). But expansion stalled: provincial child care spending was flat for two years before the 2026 pause, and early childhood educators still don't have a fair wage grid (futureofgood.co).
Lift the pause on enrolment, bring in a publicly funded wage grid for early childhood educators and fund new public and non-profit spaces.
The Conservatives haven't released a 2026 child care plan at time of grading. Their most recent plan from 2024 would expand $10-a-day spaces for single mothers and low-income families (conservativebc.ca), but their policies indicate a preference for subsidizing private, for-profit providers and they have been silent on improved wages for early childhood educators. Their proposed funding allocations are far too low to allow for meaningful expansion of $10aDay, and they have also suggested deregulating child care in ways that would undermine health, safety and working conditions (ecebc.ca).
Child care advocates found the party's 2024 promise wasn't backed by a budget (ecebc.ca). Its focus on independent providers also runs against the federal agreement that funds $10aDay, which requires the province to focus on public and not-for-profit care (bcballot.ca). Conservative MLAs supported the 2025 law allowing child care on school property, which passed with no MLA opposed (bcballot.ca).
Commit to universal $10aDay, a wage grid for early childhood educators and growth in public and non-profit care.
The Greens would lift the freeze on new $10aDay spaces, make child care universal and free by 2031, set an educator wage grid of $35 to $45 an hour by 2028, create one provincewide registry and prioritize public, non-profit and Indigenous-led centres (bcgreens.ca). No costed platform yet.
In 2017, while holding the balance of power, then-leader Andrew Weaver backed a different approach to the NDP's $10-a-day plan, which didn't proceed as proposed (globalnews.ca). Green platforms have since closely matched advocates' priorities (ecebc.ca).
Release costing and a phase-in plan, including educator recruitment.
No OneBC child care policy or statement found (1bc.ca).
Leader Dallas Brodie voted for the 2025 school child care law, which passed with no MLA opposed (bcballot.ca). No other record found; votes with no MLA opposed don't change a grade.
State a position on $10aDay and fair pay for early childhood educators.
CentreBC would treat child care as economic infrastructure and make $10 a day a reality for every family (centrebc.ca). The right goal, but there's no plan or timeline, and the statement predates Elenore Sturko's leadership.
Sturko, the party's only incumbent, has no child care voting record; she didn't vote on the 2025 school child care law (bcballot.ca).
Set out a timeline, funding and an educator wage grid.
Rents, groceries and fuel keep climbing, and many BCGEU members struggle to afford to live in the communities they serve. Affordable homes and lower everyday costs help B.C. recruit and keep the workers it depends on.
BCGEU is calling for stable funding for non-market and co-op housing, strong rent protections and action on food and energy costs.
The BC NDP would cap retail margins on staples like milk, eggs and poultry at large grocers and ban predatory surveillance pricing (bcndp.ca). It would suspend 10 cents a litre of provincial fuel tax and regulate excess margins at the pump (bcndp.ca). It would also raise the speculation and vacancy tax and add an unsold condo tax, with new revenue going to affordable homes (bcndp.ca). It hasn't committed to restoring the non-market housing funding cut in Budget 2026.
While the NDP government has not always been in complete alignment with BCGEU policies on housing, progress was made from 2017 to 2025 on issues like building new non-profit and social housing and protecting existing rental housing stock. Housing prices have come down since peak levels, but more needs to be done to improve housing affordability. The BCGEU was disappointed that Budget 2026 cancelled the Community Housing Fund's 2025 intake and deferred $1.4 billion in housing investments (thetyee.ca). The NDP government has made important progress in other aspects of affordability, including increasing the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation. Minimum wage now rises with inflation every year by law (news.gov.bc.ca), and the Community Housing Fund has helped build more than 13,000 affordable rentals since 2018 (bsh.ubc.ca).
Restore the Community Housing Fund and commit to stable, long-term funding for non-market and co-op housing.
In a Sept. 29 letter to legal and insurance groups, interim leader Lorne Doerkson said a Conservative government would bring in legislation within a year to replace ICBC's public no-fault system with a "hybrid" model restoring the right to sue, adding that "everything's on the table, including opening auto insurance to private competition" (cp24.com). An ICBC-commissioned 2022 Ernst & Young study found drivers in Alberta's private system generally paid far more than in B.C. (icbc.com), though the industry disputed its methods (canadianunderwriter.ca). MoveUP, which represents ICBC workers, says rates would double (moveuptogether.ca); the party says insurance would stay affordable, and Doerkson says he's made no promises (dailyhive.com).
The Conservatives say they'll bring down the cost of building and buying a home, but haven't said how (conservativebc.ca). They have indicated opposition to any form of rent control, and would eliminate the speculation tax and restrictions on short-term rentals like Airbnb. They have not announced any meaningful policies to reduce the costs of groceries or energy.
In 2024, the party pledged to scrap B.C.'s small-scale multi-unit housing law, the Energy Step Code and provincial short-term rental limits (globalnews.ca). It opposes the NDP's speculation tax increase and unsold condo tax (conservativebc.ca).
Rule out private auto insurance, fund non-market and co-op housing and keep rent protections.
The Greens would immediately reinstate the Community Housing Fund, bring in vacancy control so rent increases are tied to the unit rather than the tenant, and build or protect 26,000 non-market homes a year (bcgreens.ca). They'd ban surveillance pricing within 100 days (bcgreens.ca) but say less about near-term food and fuel costs. No costed platform yet.
Their 2024–26 accord with the NDP included affordable housing; the Greens ended it in February 2026, saying the government hadn't delivered (thetyee.ca). With two MLAs, their ability to deliver has been limited.
Release costing and a plan for near-term cost relief.
OneBC would block municipal rent control and eliminate the Step Code (1bc.ca), while cutting every income tax bracket and corporate tax by 25 per cent, cutting the PST by two points and balancing the budget in four years. That leaves little room for affordable or non-market housing.
No housing record found.
Commit to rent protections and non-market housing funding.
CentreBC says housing policy should be judged by affordability, not unit counts, and would remove the PST on food production and farm equipment (centrebc.ca). No specific measures on rents, non-market housing or other costs.
No housing record found for leader Elenore Sturko.
Set out concrete measures on rents, non-market housing and everyday costs.
Good public sector jobs and strong public services hold B.C.'s economy together, especially in uncertain times. Members want a government that protects services, makes public investment work for local workers and treats unions as partners.
BCGEU is calling on the next government to protect public services and frontline public sector jobs, keep community benefits agreements, buy local and secure a fair share of revenue from resources and high earners.
The BC NDP would set 'Built in B.C. and Canada' content rules for public infrastructure (bcndp.ca), build a union-led workforce for new mines with stronger inspections and full-time worker safety representatives (bcndp.ca), and raise $1 billion a year from top earners (bcndp.ca), but hasn't committed to protecting frontline public service jobs.
The NDP brought in community benefits agreements, employing about 6,500 people on public projects (bcbuildingtrades.org), single-step union certification (mccarthy.ca) and up to 27 weeks of job-protected serious illness leave (bcballot.ca). But Budget 2026 plans to cut 15,000 public sector positions over three years (cheknews.ca), which BCGEU warned would hurt services (bcgeu.ca), and members struck for eight weeks in 2025 to win a fair deal (bcgeu.ca).
Make job cuts come from management, not the front line, and secure a fair share of resource revenue.
The plan centres on doubling natural gas production and a 120-day permitting law for major projects (conservativebc.ca), plus keeping U.S. liquor off shelves during the trade dispute (conservativebc.ca). The party pledges no new taxes while cutting the deficit but hasn't said how (timescolonist.com). No commitments on workers' rights.
In April 2026, every Conservative MLA who voted, including interim leader Lorne Doerkson, backed Bill M 233, which would have barred union-only requirements on public construction, effectively ending community benefits and project labour agreements (bcballot.ca) (bcbuildingtrades.org). It was defeated. Conservative MLAs did support 2025 serious illness leave (bcballot.ca).
Commit to keeping community benefits agreements and explain how public services would be protected without new revenue.
The Greens would extend union access through sectoral bargaining, raise the minimum wage toward a living wage (bcgreens.ca), ban AI surveillance of workers (bcgreens.ca) and tax household wealth above $50 million (cheknews.ca). They'd also stop new fossil fuel development and reject the proposed forest harvest target (bcgreens.ca), offering retraining but few details on replacement jobs.
Then-leader Andrew Weaver blocked the NDP's return to card-check union certification in 2019 (vancouversun.com), and in 2020 the Greens stalled Bill 17, which would have ended B.C.'s electricity self-sufficiency rule and reduced reliance on private power, saying First Nations with clean energy investments weren't consulted (thenarwhal.ca). But they backed community benefits agreements in 2018 (theglobeandmail.com), voted against the 2026 bill to end them (bcballot.ca) and supported serious illness leave (bcballot.ca).
Publish costing and a jobs plan for resource-dependent communities.
OneBC would cut every income tax bracket and corporate tax by 25 per cent, cut the PST by two points and balance the budget in four years (1bc.ca), which would be very hard without deep cuts to public services and staff. It would also cut stumpage fees and has no commitments on workers' rights.
Leader Dallas Brodie voted against 2025 legislation giving workers up to 27 weeks of job-protected serious illness leave (bcballot.ca). She and Brent Chapman, who joined from the Conservatives in September, voted for the 2026 bill to end community benefits agreements (bcballot.ca).
Commit to protecting public services and basic workplace protections.
CentreBC would add $60 million for skilled trades training (bsky.app), support manufacturing and set clearer timelines for major projects (bcballot.ca). Nothing on workers' rights or public sector jobs.
Leader Elenore Sturko, then an independent MLA, voted for the 2026 bill to end community benefits agreements (bcballot.ca) and didn't vote on 2025 serious illness leave (bcballot.ca).
Commit to community benefits agreements and to protecting public services.
BCGEU members deliver and depend on health care in every corner of B.C. Long waits, staffing shortages and the slow growth of private care affect members at work and at home.
BCGEU is calling for stable public funding, public delivery of care, including seniors care, and staffing that prioritizes the front line over management.
The BC NDP promises no health care cuts and higher taxes on top earners to fund free shingles vaccines for people over 50, 500 home care staff for about 5,600 more seniors and seven long-term care projects delayed in Budget 2026 (lethbridgeherald.com), and would triple U.S. health worker recruitment (bcndp.ca). No commitment to bring more seniors care into the public sector.
The NDP has bought private surgical clinics into the public system (vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca), and more than 800 U.S. health professionals have taken B.C. jobs (bcndp.ca). But Budget 2026 delayed seven long-term care projects (lethbridgeherald.com). Planned public sector cuts target executive roles in health and Crown corporations (cheknews.ca); BCGEU will hold the government to protecting frontline staff.
Bring seniors care into the public system and protect frontline health jobs.
The Conservatives promise no health care cuts (conservativebc.ca). Interim leader Lorne Doerkson says health funding would be his first budget decision, held at Budget 2026 levels, plus a $50 million fund for rural practices at risk of closing (lethbridgeherald.com). The party hasn't said whether funding would keep pace with costs and population under its no-new-taxes pledge (conservativebc.ca).
The party's 2024 plan would have expanded private clinics and paid for care out of province (bc.ctvnews.ca), and the BC Health Coalition found its 2024 costed platform's funding levels meant major health spending cuts (bchealthcoalition.ca).
Commit to funding that keeps pace with costs and to public delivery of care.
The Greens would keep public health dollars in public care, build community health centres in every region, finish safe nurse-to-patient ratios and publicly cover mental health care (bcgreens.ca), plus plan for more public long-term care and home care for seniors (bcgreens.ca). No costing yet.
Under their 2024–26 accord with the NDP, the Greens pressed for community health centres and public psychologist coverage, then ended the accord in February 2026 when those weren't delivered (thetyee.ca).
Release costing and a workforce plan for new services.
OneBC supports private health care alongside the public system (1bc.ca), which BCGEU opposes because it pulls staff and resources from public care. Its plan to shift administration spending to the front line is welcome, but its tax cuts would shrink health funding.
No health care record found.
Commit to public delivery and stable health funding.
CentreBC would expand home care for seniors and cut doctors' paperwork (centrebc.ca). Positive, but no funding figures or commitment to public delivery.
No health care record found for leader Elenore Sturko.
Commit to funding levels and public delivery of care.
Highway maintenance workers keep B.C.'s roads safe and open in every season. When maintenance contracts change hands, these workers need their jobs, wages and union protections to carry over.
BCGEU is calling for successorship in every highway maintenance contract, so workers keep their jobs, wages and collective agreements when contracts change hands.
No highway maintenance statement this campaign. Most contracts began in 2018 and 2019 for 10 years with an optional five-year extension (www2.gov.bc.ca), so the next government will make key decisions about them.
The successorship agreement was reached in April 2017, just before the NDP took office (news.gov.bc.ca). The NDP carried it through: its contracts require winning companies to keep the unionized workforce and honour its collective agreement (renewcanada.net). NDP MLAs also voted against the 2026 bill to bar union requirements in public construction contracts (bcballot.ca).
Commit to successorship in every contract renewal and retender.
No stated position on highway maintenance or successorship (bcballot.ca).
Every Conservative MLA who voted backed the 2026 bill to bar unionized-workforce requirements in public construction contracts (bcballot.ca), a requirement similar to highway successorship clauses. For context, the 2017 successorship deal came under the BC Liberal government (news.gov.bc.ca), which had left successorship out of the East Kootenay contract in 2015 (archives.nupge.ca). We grade today's party on its own record.
Commit to successorship in every contract renewal and retender.
No stated position on highway maintenance or successorship (bcgreens.ca).
Green MLAs voted against the 2026 bill to bar union requirements in public construction contracts (bcballot.ca) and backed community benefits agreements in 2018 (theglobeandmail.com). No direct highway maintenance record.
Commit to successorship in every contract renewal and retender.
No stated position on highway maintenance or successorship (1bc.ca).
Leader Dallas Brodie and Brent Chapman voted for the 2026 bill to bar union requirements in public construction contracts (bcballot.ca). No direct highway maintenance record.
Commit to successorship in every contract renewal and retender.
No stated position on highway maintenance or successorship (bcballot.ca).
Leader Elenore Sturko voted for the 2026 bill to bar union requirements in public construction contracts (bcballot.ca). No direct highway maintenance record.
Commit to successorship in every contract renewal and retender.
Public libraries are community lifelines. They offer free access to information, technology and programs, and a safe place to gather. Provincial funding for public libraries has been frozen since 2010, and libraries are at a breaking point. BCGEU members who work in libraries see the urgent need for sustainable funding every day to keep doors open and services running.
The BCGEU is calling for annual provincial funding for public libraries to increase to at least $30 million per year, with annual inflationary adjustments.
On Oct. 7, the BC NDP pledged to permanently double provincial library funding from $14 million to $28 million a year (theprogress.com), close to the sector's call for $30 million (bclaconnect.ca), but with no word on indexing to inflation.
Base funding has been stuck at $14 million since a 2009 cut from $17 million. The NDP added about $56 million in one-time support from 2020, including $45 million in 2023, and as recently as September 2025, Premier David Eby said there was no room to raise base funding (mysummerlandnow.com). A provincial library leader has warned the system is at a breaking point (vancouversun.com).
Index the new funding to inflation and close the gap to $30 million.
No Conservative library funding policy found (bcballot.ca), and the no-new-taxes pledge (conservativebc.ca) doesn't say how libraries would be funded.
No library record found. For context, the 2009 funding cut came under the BC Liberal government (mysummerlandnow.com).
Commit to $30 million a year in base funding, indexed to inflation.
No party library policy, though Green candidate Andrew Appleton supports more provincial funding (bcgreens.ca); a candidate's view isn't a party position.
In 2019, the Green caucus backed the sector's call to raise annual funding to $20 million (adamolsen.ca), but it didn't happen while the Greens held the balance of power.
Commit to $30 million a year in base funding, indexed to inflation.
No OneBC library funding policy found (1bc.ca); its tax cuts would reduce revenue for all public services, including libraries.
No library record found.
Commit to $30 million a year in base funding, indexed to inflation.
No CentreBC library funding policy found (bcballot.ca).
No library record found for leader Elenore Sturko.
Commit to $30 million a year in base funding, indexed to inflation.
You can vote on general voting day, during advance voting or by mail. Check that you're registered, find your voting place and see what ID to bring on the Elections BC website.
Unions are political because government decisions shape our working lives. The wages we bargain, the services we deliver and use, the laws that protect us on the job and the funding that keeps our workplaces running all depend on the people we elect.
BCGEU members deliver the services British Columbians count on every day. We deserve a government that listens to us.
We won't be distracted by culture war talking points. We want to know what each party will do, how they'll fund it and when people can expect to see results.
We'll track the commitments made during this campaign and keep pressing whoever forms government to deliver them for our 100,000+ members.
BCGEU isn't affiliated with any political party. That independence lets us advocate for our members and hold every government accountable, whoever forms it. Our support can't be taken for granted. It's earned through concrete commitments to working people.
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