2026 Provincial Election Platform Analysis – BC

This summary by BC Non-Profit Housing Association reviews housing-related commitments in the 2026 provincial party platforms in British Columbia. Informed by Housing Central’s advocacy framework, it organizes housing policies into three themes: Build, Protect, and Support. ^[1]

For more information and existing resources to support evidence-based discussions related to housing during the provincial election please visit our resource library.

Housing is once again a defining issue for voters in British Columbia’s provincial election, even if it hasn’t received as much attention on the campaign trail. The party platforms reflect both the urgency of the housing crisis, as well as different ideas for how to address it. Across the major party platforms, there is broad recognition that the cost and complexity of building housing needs to come down. Proposals include faster approvals, reductions in development costs and charges, regulatory changes, and new approaches to construction. That focus is necessary as the community housing sector faces many of the same cost pressures as the private market. Bringing down the cost of delivering housing will help public investment go further.

But building more housing is only one part of the solution. Housing Central’s priorities for this election are to Build More, Protect More, and Support More. We’re looking to government to restore planned investments in non-profit, co-op and Indigenous housing; protect the affordable homes we already have; and invest in the staffing and services that help people remain successfully housed. There are encouraging commitments across the platforms that align with these priorities:

• The BC Greens propose restarting the Community Housing Fund and Indigenous Housing Fund and increasing investment in the Rental Protection Fund to protect 2,000 deeply affordable rental homes each year.
• The BC NDP’s $390-million Shovel-Ready Affordable Housing commitment responds directly to the need to get non-market housing projects moving, while its commitment to work with the federal government to double the reach of the BC Rental Protection Fund recognizes the importance of preserving existing affordability as well as building new supply.
• The Conservative Party of BC emphasizes reducing residential construction taxes and charges, aligning municipal zoning with Official Community Plans, shortening approval timelines and simplifying the Building Code. These proposals respond to barriers to housing construction, although the platform does not identify comparable commitments to new non-profit, co-op or Indigenous housing, or to protecting existing affordable rental housing.
• CentreBC proposes doubling BC Builds to 20,000 below-market homes by 2031, reducing development cost charges for rental and below-market housing, and delivering 1,000 new supportive homes with on-site health care.
• ONE BC’s housing platform is comparatively limited, focusing largely on eliminating the BC Energy Step Code and opposing municipal rent controls, without setting out commitments to build or protect community housing.

Notably, supportive housing received relatively limited direct attention across the platforms, even as parties focused heavily on the issues surrounding it: homelessness, mental health, addictions, and community safety. These issues are deeply interconnected, and supportive housing remains a critical part of the response, particularly for people who need ongoing support to remain housed. Importantly, we know it contributes to better outcomes for tenants, providers and communities alike.

At the same time, supportive housing cannot be expected to carry the weight of gaps elsewhere in our social safety net. Systems change requires leadership from our elected officials, and the provincial government has the biggest role to play in creating this change.

Taken together, the platforms reinforce an important point: there is no single intervention that will solve B.C.’s housing crisis. We need to increase overall supply while building homes that remain affordable for the long term, protecting the affordable housing we already have, and ensuring people have the supports they need to remain successfully housed.

British Columbians appear ready for that broader approach. Our polling has found that 93% believe it is important for the provincial government to have a long-term housing strategy across the whole housing system, while 86% recognize that decisions affecting one part of the housing system often have impacts on other parts.

The platforms contain many of the pieces. The opportunity for the next government is to put those pieces together into a long-term, whole-system housing strategy that delivers more affordable housing and recognizes community housing as an essential part of the solution.

Our full analysis of the party platforms can be found here