After months of stumbles and mistakes, B.C. Premier David Eby finally caught a break last week, and it came courtesy of Prime Minister Mark Carney.
And boy oh boy, it was a big one.
The PM plunked $20 billion into the Eby government’s lap, and it could not have come at a better time for the premier, as his approval rating continues to slide.
The federal government is dishing out billions of dollars for things like mines, energy projects, transportation projects, housing, childcare, skills training and ports.
Of course, details of exactly how this money will be spent and over what period of years are rather sparse, but you can’t blame Eby for taking the “hey, what’s not to like?” approach.
On top of this massive amount of largesse, Eby was able to convince the federal government to keep the ban on tanker traffic on B.C.’s northwest coast intact with absolutely no modifications.
By agreeing that B.C. has no constitutional authority over an oil pipeline, the B.C. premier paved the way for a new pipeline to be built, but one that will follow a southern route that already exists.
The NDP government signalled some time ago that it was okay with another southern pipeline. After all, it has gone from opposing the existing TMX pipeline to now supporting increasing its capacity, so learning to live with yet another pipeline along the same route will not be difficult.
This all presents a major victory for Eby and is probably the best news his government has received since narrowly eking out an election win in 2024.
It also allows him to patch up relations with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, now that she appears to have achieved her top goal of having another oil pipeline take crude oil out of her province to market.
Another advantage for Eby was how Carney’s big announcement exposed how his chief political opponent – the B.C. Conservative Party – is the party that is now the one that seems to be stumbling around.
While Carney and Eby were taking the stage together, neither B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay nor interim party leader Heather Mahs could be found. The caucus issued a tepid news release, but no interviews, so the party seemed almost irrelevant to the announcement making so much news.
Now, as I noted earlier, there are not a lot of details about this massive spending plan.
For example, while the way for a new pipeline has now been cleared, there is still some murkiness associated with it. For one thing, it is unclear whether First Nations in the Delta region (likely the area of the pipeline’s terminus) support the idea.
And will taxpayers really be comfortable with footing 90 per cent of the cost (which could exceed $50 billion) once that little tidbit – largely ignored the day of the announcement – starts making the rounds?
Exactly how the childcare package will be structured is unclear, and so is the time frame (and funding amount) for more skills training. And pledging to spend $10 billion to improve the infrastructure at the Port of Vancouver requires more explanation than a couple of lines in a news release or memorandum of understanding between the two levels of government.
But for now, you can forgive Eby for popping a bunch of champagne corks. After months of bad news, he can do some celebrating.
Keith Baldrey is Global BC’s legislature bureau chief.
Keith.Baldrey@globalnews.ca
