Saturday September 27, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted at 5:43 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
On Friday in Victoria, BC Premier David Eby addressed municipal leaders on the last day of the 2025 Convention of the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM).
Premier since November 2022 and re-elected in November 2024 (a Vancouver-area MLA since 2013), this was Eby’s third UBCM convention speech.
He knows the municipal political landscape well but in 2025 that terrain is fraught with many of the earmarks of ‘downloading’ of provincial costs onto local government.
Eby’s BC NDP government is presently grappling with the significant economic shifts that much of the world is also dealing with since the election of Donald Trump to his second term as US President. This has, by necessity, shifted much of what he might have done as an NDP Premier to a strong focus on economic revision and development.
In his 30-minute speech (followed by 15 minutes of audience questions), Premier Eby noted that this is “a rocky time” for local elected officials to be governing”.
He joked a bit in parts of his speech, including that Victoria is a ‘room temperature’ city, eluding to the pleasant weather compared to many other parts of BC (not sure how that went over with delegates from the north and interior).
Crime in communities:
The Premier highlighted the challenges of crime and disorder on the streets which he says his BC NDP government is helping to fight by backing a call for the training and hiring of more police officers, bail reform, and working against gangs and organized crime as well as ‘crime at home’ (i.e. intimate partner violence).
Eby says he has raised all these issues with the prime minister in Ottawa. He’s hoping to see, — in the Fall session of the House of Commons — some work to deal with repeat violent offenders, to include or strengthen intimate partner violence in the criminal code, and that repeat property crime be dealt with effectively.
Complex care:
Eby announced that more complex care housing facilities are in the works, one in Prince George and the other in Surrey. Both buildings are already standing, which saves time to develop space for the additional 100 involuntary care beds (in cases of mental health challenge and brain injury).
These facilities will allow for people to get “treatment, care and dignity close to home”.
Heritage Conservation Act:
Addressing municipal leaders, the premier said “we’ll do it in a way that works for you” as to proposed changes to the Heritage Conservation Act.
“The feedback you have already provided will result in changes to the legislation,” he told the audience of about 400 people (including elected officials, staff, cabinet ministers and MLAs, and former cabinet ministers).
“We’ll do it in a way that works for you,” said Eby, mentioning about “not holding up permits and not at the expense of local communities”.
Dealing with US impacts:
Eby repeated a stance that British Columbians have heard for most of 2025 now, that the “unprovoked trade war” brought on by the United States is having a significant economic impact in this province and across the country.
The United States is threatening BC’s sovereignty and economy, said Eby. He was pleased that travel stats show Canadians staying in Canada rather than travelling to the US.
“People across this province are coming together as never before,” said Eby, adding “there’s no place I’d rather be to face these threats” than in BC. This province has resources, people and access to global markets.
Major projects in BC:
In recent weeks, BC’s premier has been trying to guide the prime minister to “look west” for economic development that will benefit the entire country. Of the federal government’s first five national major projects that were announced on September 11, two of those are BC projects that are already up and running and ready to do more (i.e. LNG Canada Phase 2 and the Red Chris copper mine).
A shortfall in electrical power is holding back major projects, said Eby, speaking broadly of how big projects need to be supported going forward.
“It is here in BC that Canada’s next chapter is being written” said Eby. For that comment he received spontaneous audience applause on Friday.
Financial challenges:
The BC provincial fiscal situation is burdened by a deficit that was shown to have grown (First Quarterly Report delivered September 15, 2025).
Eby noted on Friday that the forestry sector is considerably challenged right now, with the equivalent of 35% tariffs. He likens BC’s forestry sector to that of the dependence of Ontario on the auto-manufacturing sector.
Eby described economic benefit as “wealth that shows up in real ways in people’s lives”. It makes possible the investments that BC is continuing with in schools, health care facilities and transportation. He noted how every child in BC deserves “a high quality education and a safe school”, adding that “class size matters” (for both the educational experience and the working conditions in classrooms).
Libraries stuck where they are:
In his scrum with media after Friday morning’s speech, Premier Eby said that despite a push by municipal delegates for an increase in operational funding to libraries across BC that there will be no increase. Libraries are asking for the $14 million annual operating funding (at that level since 2009) to be increased to $30 million.
In relative terms, an ask of $16 million is not large in a provincial budget — so this lack of interest or fiscal ability to move on increasing library operational support is a big tell about the real concern that the government has for its financial situation right now. Perhaps the call by UBCM delegates to support review of the library funding model will bear fruit in the years ahead.
This focus on libraries is important for municipal leaders and British Columbians to note … as librarians pointed out in the September 22 session at UBCM — libraries are front line community hubs. They deal with a wide range of social needs and issues now, well beyond their additional mandate to organize books. Staff are often not trained or prepared for this new reality.
The government does provide other funding support to libraries through other times of one-time grants and capital grants.
Not a lot on housing:
In his speech on the last day of UBCM 2025 Eby did not address a lot about housing. He was preceded just hours earlier by federal Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson.
Robertson had mentioned some upcoming federal attention to development cost changes (DCCs) that impact that cost of building homes.
===== RELATED:
- Federal housing minister Gregor Robertson at UBCM: infrastructure, federal land, DCCs (September 27, 2025)
- BC Conservative Leader John Rustad addresses UBCM (September 25, 2025)
- Emily Lowan now leads the BC Green Party (September 25, 2025)
- OneBC calls for big changes to drug support and rehab (September 25, 2025)
- Strong future for BC economy through investment & innovation says finance minister (September 24, 2025)
- A tale of two libraries: for books, for community (September 23, 2025)
- Housing as human right gains momentum at UBCM 2025 (September 23, 2025)
- NEWS SECTIONS: HOUSING | UBCM | 43rd PARLIAMENT of BC | BC NDP