Friday April 18, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends | Long-format journalism
Four federal candidates participated in direct engagement with four downtown Victoria business leaders on Wednesday evening, April 16.
This was a ‘Listening Session’ as compared to a traditional All Candidates Meeting. The event was organized by the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.
It happened just two days ahead of advance voting (which runs April 18 to 21); the full 45th general election comes up on Monday April 28.
Meeting format:
The Listening Session format was designed — in this instance — to inform federal candidates about local business and economic issues while hearing direct topical responses from the candidates as they seek the local vote. It is a highly controlled approach to event content.
By comparison, All Candidates meetings usually pose short questions to all candidates by a third-party organizer, without much preamble — and importantly — all the candidates are running in the same electoral area (riding). That format gives voters a chance to compare all candidates in relation to one another, which reflects the experience they will have when faced with a ballot at the voting station.
The Chamber’s listening format puts the onus on individual candidates (some who are entirely new to politics) to essentially ‘say what their party would do, if elected’. This format is suitable for a well-informed attentive audience — and gives (in this case the Chamber) an opportunity to promote their concerns with a focus on specific issues.
Who attended:
There to hear the exchange between business leaders and candidates were about 80 people including the local public, business leaders, Chamber staff, and political teams.
Across four parties:
The candidates were from three different ridings, across four parties:
- Laurel Collins, incumbent, NDP (Victoria MP since 2019)
- Will Greaves, Liberal (Victoria)
- Elizabeth May, incumbent, Green co-leader (Saanich-Gulf Islands MP since 2011)
- Grant Cool, Conservative (Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke)
Business leaders:
The Business leaders with views to share were from the Victoria Chamber, Destination Greater Victoria, Downtown Victoria Business Association, the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, and the Vancouver Island Construction Association.
- Rory Kulmala – CEO, Vancouver Island Construction Association – Question on Housing & Construction
- Bruce Williams – CEO, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce (who emceed the event) Question on Workforce
- Paul Nursey – CEO, Destination Greater Victoria – Question on Infrastructure Investment
- Jeff Bray – CEO, Downtown Victoria Business Association – Question on Community Safety
- Robert Lewis-Manning – CEO, Greater Victoria Harbour Authority – Question on Marine Opportunities
Introductions by the candidates themselves:
Elizabeth May, Green co-leader (incumbent in Saanich-Gulf Islands) gave opening remarks noting her longstanding work as a parliamentarian and her work to help support the business community. She feels that all four candidates care about this country. She noted her background as a lawyer but emphasized that she “grew up in the tourism business” and didn’t get into politics until she was in her 50s. She has been the MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands since 2011.
Laurel Collins, incumbent, NDP (Victoria) called this a “critically important election” in which people are worried about the threats from Trump and “what a Pierre Poilievre Conservative government would mean for people”. More people are joining the NDP because “our future is on the line”. “New Democrats fight for what matters most to you” including environment, investments in housing and health care. She has been part of a small NDP caucus that accomplished dental care, child care and Pharmacare that will make “immeasurable impact in people’s lives”. Collins led the negotiations to eliminate over $2 billion in international fossil fuel subsidies, getting that instead invested into climate solutions. “The upcoming four years are going to be hard. We’re going to need elected representatives who are going to look out for everyday people.”
Grant Cool, Conservative (Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke) said “it was quite a surprise to be here”, being invited only yesterday, he said (though the Chamber says they had been working on the invitation for a while). Cool remarked that it would be “interesting” to see how experienced political candidates “work with this group”. He says that the voters he’s meeting during his campaign “know what they want and what they need” but that they are “very confused — they really don’t know who to vote for”. “It’s very important that we do more of this,” he said, referring to the event format. He said that “personal finances” are foremost in people’s minds given “non-stop inflation, plummeting disposable incomes, families having to choose between hockey and soccer, seniors seeing their income disappear.” He added: “It’s disheartening to see how many people are living this close to the line. These people want relief and we need to give it to them. Only the Conservative Party can deliver that… people want meaningful tax reduction, homes that they can afford, safe streets, and an economy that is second to none.”
Will Greaves, Liberal (Victoria). Greaves is a political science professor at the University of Victoria. “As a politically engaged person it feels like this election has been coming for a long time, that we have had major questions in this country that would ultimately be resolved through the next federal election. And ultimately at the heart of what the ballot box questions seem to be shaping up as, was the question of values. Which party do Canadians feel would best reflect their values in government? Which party was best positioned to continue to support the strong public services that Canadians rely upon? Which party is best positioned to continue our efforts toward housing affordability and lack of availability in communities across this country… to continue our fight against climate change and act on the root cause of the global climate crisis? Which government would we as Canadians trust to best reflect our interests and our values on the international stage. All of that remains in play in this election but with the added layer of the challenging economic situation that we are now facing with the United States. Questions about the economy, business and how we can invest in local businesses, small and medium size businesses — to support them through what will be a difficult period of time as we grapple with these tariffs are now top of mind for people across this country. It is a source of tremendous pride for me and many people in Canada that Mark Carney — one of the most respected economic voices of the world — is the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada at exactly at the moment when we need economic qualifications and experience in difficult times to help steer us through the challenge that we are now facing.”
Temporary workforce to support businesses:
Chamber CEO Bruce Williams delivered a lengthy preamble about overall regional concerns. He said the cost of housing and health-care are impediments to workers deciding to move to this region, said Williams as he introduced the first question. “We have that issue for us front and centre all the time,” said Williams.
“Bringing workers here that have credentials that are not recognized is also a problem,” said Williams, indicating it’s worse in BC than in other provinces.
Skilled workers are needed “so that businesses can flourish”, said Williams. But he pointed out the challenge of limitations on international student visas in connection with that, also that post-secondary institutions now have reduced revenues. “Many will start laying off people very soon which will reduce their curriculum and their ability to provide the very valuable work force that we require,” the Chamber’s CEO said.
Williams highlighted the “mental health crisis and overdose crisis”, saying the solution is “recovery beds and homes for those people, that they’re safe and they can get their lives back”. He pointed out that permanent brain damage has resulted for many people who’ve experienced overdose.
“We need to market Canada as a great place to live, that we’re open for business,” said Williams. Presently that is difficult to do given current cost of living and housing availability challenges. He wants to promote that “the most beautiful part of Canada — British Columbia — is open to visitors and open to business”.
On the matter of agriculture and food sustainability, Williams said that climate change affects supply chains which impacts the production of food. Many Vancouver Islanders have realized that for decades, particularly the south Vancouver Island farming community. He quoted a figure that 90% of food consumed on Vancouver Island is imported (some experts put it even higher than that). For the business case, Williams said that creates jobs in other jurisdictions while leaving islanders vulnerable to supply chain interruptions.
The Chamber wants to see an audit of the Canadian tax system which Williams says was “brought in a measure to fund World War I” and “has not had an overlook to make sure it’s as good as it can be”.
The Chamber wants rail service to return to Vancouver Island.
After all that, Williams had a question for the candidates about temporary foreign workers (TFW) who are brought here and trained, only to see them return home. “Would your party, if elected, commit to exemptions to the TFW exemptions for regions with low unemployment like ours?”
Will Greaves [Liberal] responded to that by saying it’s an intersection of immigration and economic policies — the federal government paused the intake to the TFW program that was adding further strain to housing and social services. That made it challenging for Canadians who are already here and the immigrants were unable to actually live here in a good way that they expected. He said a re-elected Liberal government would work with business to make sure the immigration system is meeting related labour needs. That would include a strong push on building more housing, he said, as well as dealing with the capacity of the health-care and education systems.
Elizabeth May [Green] said all the Chamber’s points are critical. If re-elected she said she would address those issues right away. “The immigration system went off the rails in the last number of years,” said May, noting that immigration levels were never debated in parliament but that under both Harper and then Trudeau the immigration number crunching was outsourced to large companies like Deloitte and McKenzie Consulting (the latter of which said half a million people per year was a suitable immigration number, May claims). Planning for a comprehensive approach to immigration including infrastructure to handle it (e.g. health care and housing) was her overall comment. That would put TFW on a path to citizenship, she said.
Laurel Collins [NDP] said “the Liberals completely botched the file (which she called a knee-jerk policy decision). “I’ve seen the impacts on families on workers and small businesses”. She added: “We definitely should explore options for exemptions for our region. We have an unemployment rate of under 4%,” said Collins. Some small businesses are now losing some of their skilled workers who may have to leave Canada. The Liberal decision on immigration was “non-evidence based” without input from workers, small businesses or our region. Housing investment is required as related to all this, she noted.
Grant Cool [Conservative] said that “”revisionist history is the name of the game at the other end of the table”. He itemized examples of people he knows with businesses who’ve lost productivity because they’ve lost workers. “We are going to target specific sectors and specific regions of the country to ensure that those business and communities that the workers need to work,” said Cool. “Our economy is so messed up right now, that all the stuff that we talk about that we want to accomplish is just hopes and dreams if we don’t find a way to improve performance of our economy in terms of our GDP and our productivity, none of this matters because no government — no matter whose it is — will have the capacity to meet any of these promises,” he said.
Housing and Construction
Rory Kulmala, CEO of the Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA) had a question for the candidates on construction and housing. But first, his preamble started with housing strategy and accountability. It’s one of the urgent issues facing the Capital Regional District, he said. Despite high levels of commitments under the national housing strategy, conditions for builders, renters, prospective homeowners continue to worsen.
After itemizing the high cost of housing and rent, and lagging household incomes, he concluded that home ownership is out of reach. Ho noted how young adults need two or three jobs and “perhaps parents’ help”.
Without acknowledging the value of renters to supporting the investor sector nor the variable reasons why some people rent instead of own, Kulmala said that “purpose-built rentals are replacing the more stable, secondary market options like investor-owned condos and suites” which runs counter to the provincial government push for purpose-built rentals together with recent support from the federal government. Though he did say that rental vacancy is below 1% which reduces housing security tor tenants.
These pressures are being amplified by population growth which he stated as 8% during 2016 to 2021, something that is “expected to accelerate”. By 2041 the CRD is expecting the regional population to grow by over 100,000 people, said Kulmala, adding that the surge would come from international immigration and inter-provincial migration. There was no detail as to where that growth would happen, but one municipality (the City of Langford) is working on policies related to a doubling of their population growth by 2050.
Kulmala reiterated what many leaders in Greater Victoria say, that “people are drawn here by the quality of life”. But even Williams and Collins had pointed out that the quality of life is already strained or unavailable to some. Kulmala points out a lack of investment and lack of priority around “issues that relate to our communities”. He noted traffic, services and affordability as challenges in the region. He looped back to the topic of the night that federal funding is key to resolving some of these challenges.
The living wage is $26.78 per hour in this region, said Kulmala, while the current minimum wage is $17.40 in BC right now, going up to $17.85 at June 1, 2025.
“People are working full time and still struggling to keep up. For builders these conditions are a challenging environment. Delays in municipal permitting, uncertainty in funding programs and a lack of alignment between federal, provincial and local housing initiatives continue to drive up (the cost of) projects that could make a difference,” said Kulmala.
“The National Housing Strategy may have ambitious goals but we have to deliver tangible results,” he said.
Kulmala’s question: “Given the compounding pressures of affordability, infrastructure strain and population growth what specific measures would your party implement to strengthen the accountability and effectiveness of the national housing strategy to support the delivery of more housing, especially attainable workforce housing and reduce the barriers that continue to stall construction in our region.”
Elizabeth May [Green]: “Your synopsis of the situation and statistics are exactly the things that keep me up at night,” said May, who noted that she is a renter unlike probably most of the other MPs in Canada. She loves living here on south Vancouver Island and hopes her children can afford to live here too. She concurred with the comment about ‘lack of alignment’ of various levels of government decision-making. She highlights the need to drop inter-provincial trade barriers as a way to help boost the economy. “I’ve been troubled for years why Canada doesn’t seem to be able to act like a country or even think like a country,” said May, comparing that to the coordination and collaboration of 27 European states. “We need policy alignment, there’s only one taxpayer,” said May. She recommends following the Australian model called the Council of Australian Governments (which in Canada would be federal, provincial, municipal and Indigenous governments) to come up with national policy initiatives. Thanks to Trump’s impact on Canada, May says “now we have an opportunity to pull together” to build housing and social housing rapidly.
Laurel Collins [NDP]. “It really shouldn’t be this hard” for workers to find housing and businesses to find skilled labour, said Collins. She says there should be heavy investment in trades to ensure there is skilled labour in the region. The NDP is proposing to build three million new homes including truly affordable housing, said Collins, so families can leave in communities. The NDP has also proposed Victory Bonds as a means for attracting private capital to fund national infrastructure as was done during WWII (bringing in more money than taxes during that time). The bond funds would be applied to “housing and making communities more resilient”.
Grant Cool [Conservative]. “We need to let the market do this”, adding that “people need to afford to build homes” which starts with “improving the economy with higher paying jobs, that we correct some of the issues with respect to taxation”. Cool said the Conservatives were the one who started the idea of cancelling the carbon tax “and now the Liberals have picked it up in their own manner” but asked “are the really going to do it … of course they’re not”. During his campaign so far (over the last two weeks), Cool says he’s heard from “couples with a couple of kids” that they can’t make progress due to taxation and the cost of housing, noting that it takes up 70% of people’s income. “There is literally no one who can afford to buy the houses,” said Cool. “Until we fix the root problem there is no solution that is going to work,” he concluded.
Will Greaves [Liberal]. “Housing is at the absolute heart of our party’s platform”, said Greaves, adding that it’s central to their leader’s vision for after the election. The housing crisis is “a classic example of market failure” and that government needs to step in, said Greaves. Government needs to provide housing to “folks who are being left out of the housing that the free market has currently provided”. He said the federal government is now “getting into the business of building social housing directly”, noting that wasn’t the case for the last 30 years. He said that the Liberals are committed to creating a new federal agency parallel to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) the task for which will be the construction of social housing on federally owned land, and the administration of that housing in a way that will provide for vulnerable people in society and workers who could access the social housing and take pressure off the price of market housing. The Liberals have announced that the GST will be eliminated on the first $1 million purchase price for homebuyers, that there will be more investment in training skilled workers to work in the housing construction sector, and that the rate of new home construction will double over the next 10 years. “Housing is at the centre of some of the challenges that we face as a country and we are going to place it front and centre in our priorities in government, so every Canadian can have a home,” said Greaves.
Safe communities and public safety
Jeff Bray, CEO of the Downtown Victoria Business Association was up next. “There’s nothing more democratic than having candidates in a room with electors and exchanging ideas and answers,” said Bray.
Bray is also the president of the BC Business Improvement Association that represents 70 improvement areas across the province.
Bray said that “random violence, theft and vandalism are happening in urban cores, something that has been escalating for about the last 10 years”, adding that it affects businesses, their staff and customers. Violent behaviour occurs in and around the businesses. “Some of this is tied to homelessness, mental health and addictions,” said Bray. Businesses and staff feel violated weekly by the events that are happened, he told the audience.
“The impacts wear over time — not only the sense of safety for staff and customers but the desirability of our urban cores,” said Bray. He quoted a 2024 Leger poll that indicated businesses feeling that downtown public safety issues have gotten worse. People then avoid downtown areas. Some businesses may not renew their leases, Bray fears. Losing downtown businesses leads to losing the downtown, he claimed.
He criticized the “revolving door” of the bail system which often puts repeat offenders back on the streets. He wants to see action this year to stem this behaviour, specifically keeping offenders in jail without bail and actually requiring jail time if convicted. Bray feels that would reduce “street disorder and this crime issue”. He says that bail reform “is one of these complex issues that rests at the federal level”.
Bray’s question to the candidates was about bail reform, for repeat criminal offenders to not get bail pending trial.
Grant Cool [Conservative]. Cool said his personal feeling is that the current system is abandoning our ‘brothers and sisters’. He called it a “serious problem” and that “we have to stop fighting each other on this one”. It’s about “building consensus that starts with compassion and helps these people,” said Cool, saying tough choices can be made together. He wants to see Bill C-75 repealed “and some better way to deal with that circumstance”. Funding for treatment and recovery, enforcement and a justice system that can manage this process are part of what is required, said Cool.
Will Greaves [Liberal]: Chronic mental health and addiction challenges need to be addressed, said Greaves. He notes social and economic issues needing to be dealt with, in this case around the “vitality of downtown and small businesses downtown in particular”. “Homelessness is a chronic challenge,” said Greaves, saying the ripple effect is on many residents feel less safe downtown and that there is loss of the public realm downtown. “It’s a challenge that does require governments to work together,” but that “governments closest to the problem” probably need to take the lead. ‘That means that local and provincial governments need to step up and address this issue more effectively than they are doing,” said Greaves. As a federal candidate he notes there are three municipalities and three BC MLAs within the Victoria federal riding. For Greaves, that means a lot of politicians as well as “countless community stakeholders who could benefit from some more coordination as well”. He said that federal resources “could be brought to bear”. In terms of bail reform specifically, Greaves mentioned Carney’s pledge for a Liberal government to look at “reforming the criminal code so that violent offenders and multiple repeat offenders are not released on bail pending their trials”. He said that homelessness downtown contributes to disruption of the local economy, sense of security and well-being. “It’s an important priority that requires cooperation and it will require a federal role to amend the Criminal Code to make it happen,” said Greaves.
Elizabeth May [Green]: “The problem is largely provincial and largely a question of funding,” said May. Judges need to get through court cases faster, which depends on better provincial funding she said. That also includes funding to help prisons from becoming overcrowded. “There is a lack of support for basic criminal justice reform,” said May. People need to move through the system and crime needs to be stopped before it happens, she added. She commended Victoria Police Chief Del Manak who has maintained a police force with a high level of training. “This is a multi-faceted problem,” said May, noting that people brought through the justice system or off the streets could be trained to work in the housing construction sector where there are labour supply challenges. “The federal government can’t solve it with the Criminal Code alone,” said May. “It’s going to take really thoughtful, consistent application of principles to protect our downtown urban cores and the businesses in them,” she said, noting that it’s a Canada-wide urgent problem. “Just denying people bail crowds the prisons and knocks the problem back up stream.”
Laurel Collins [NDP]: “There is no one magic solution. If it was as easy as just ‘getting tough on crime’ there wouldn’t be any crime in Conservative urban centres in Alberta or Saskatchewan,” said Collins, taking a political jab at the Conservative provincial politics of those two provinces. “This is a really difficult problem but we do need to find solutions,” said Collins, acknowledging the impacts on local businesses, workers downtown and community members from all walks of life. She noted that the Conservatives have been talking about cutting all harm reduction but that would mean more people dying, said Collins. She advocates for government to be investing in treatment and recovery “in the way they need to”, referring to immediate availability of treatment beds without a long wait list. “There shouldn’t be a presumption of innocence for repeat violent offenders,” said Collins. She calls for investment in community-based bail programs for less severe crimes; she says these programs with resources for supports for those people have a 90% success rate.
Marine opportunities:
Robert Lewis Manning, CEO of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) was up next. Victoria is surrounded by water and a marine setting. He started by talking about harbours and ports.
“Harbours provide safe shelter and ports provide economic development and productivity and jobs. And we’re lucky to have both of those in Victoria and Esquimalt,” said Manning in his introduction.
In a time of unpredictability ports offer an opportunity for diversification and to receive people, said Manning. People arrive to this urban area by ships, ferries, float planes, and helicopters.
Highly technical ship repair facilities are in Esquimalt and the Victoria Inner Harbour that employ high tech skilled labour, said Manning. “We have professionals that sail ships and fly aircraft — the’re all part of our harbour ecosystem and providing good paying jobs to our local community,” he said. Increasing the work for ship repair is an economic opportunity for the region, he proposed.
The real estate at the breakwater district in Victoria is underutilized that used to be used for product export, said Manning. GVHA collaborates with two local First Nations who he says are “keen for economic development and to steward the waters that have been their waters for time immemorial”.
Victoria’s harbour is strategically located with the North American supply chain routes including “connectivity with the Port of Vancouver, and the ports of Seattle and Tacoma”.
“We are part of a growing green shipping corridor between all the ports in BC, Alaska and Washington State,” said Manning, but added that uncertain times are challenging. But he says tourism is a “very vibrant tourism and destination economy”.
Manning’s question to the candidates: “What can you do to help attract investment and policies that will help continue to help our harbour be a working harbour, a productive safe and sustainable place for marine commerce in the future?”
Laurel Collins [NDP]: Collins has been a member of the board of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority. She says the Victoria harbour can be highlighted in international ways. As for greening the supply chain, she has been a long-time advocate for shore power including for good air quality. She pushed the government for the installation of shore power. This year the federal government awarded over $22 million for the next phase of shore power. Collins has also been pushing for better regulation for cruise ship emissions and dumping effluent and waste into coastal waters. She’s been advocating for support for the BC Maritime Museum, calling for more investment in tourism infrastructure and diversification.
Grant Cool [Conservative]. Cool told the audience that his family owns “quite a few different marine operation companies”, saying one of them is at the Port of Churchill in Manitoba. He insists that ports need things “to move through them” otherwise “they don’t do any business”. Cool says: “That is the nature of what they are. We need to start exporting more goods and those goods start with the basic raw materials that Canada has so much of,” said Cool. “Natural resources development has to be key to start all of this,” said Cool, adding that more investment in manufacturing is required if there are to be more products. He says that “one of the reasons I’ve volunteered to do this job is because there are many opportunities for someone like me to help in improving these aspects of what we’re going to do in terms of manufacturing, innovation and business opportunities for large scale activities to build things from our natural resources. “It all comes down to export and diversification,” said Cool.
Will Greaves [Liberal]. “On an island our relationship to the water and to the ports is absolutely essential to the sustainability of the economy going forward,” said Greaves. BC has ample opportunities for trade diversification because of our access to the pacific coast and the possibility of exporting to markets overseas, he said. “BC is in a better position to avoid some of the worst impacts of the current tariff trade war with the United States,” said Greaves. The Liberals have said they will invest in ports and railways across the country, Greaves points out. ‘There are underdeveloped opportunities along our waterfront,” said Greaves about the Victoria area. Some of that land is federally owned, giving the federal government an opportunity for new investment. Some is about export but also about ensuring other supports for the broader economy, he said, including working with post-secondary institutions to train a skilled stable labour force for the sector. “We need to care for our waters,” said Greaves, in the context of how economy and environment go hand in hand.
Elizabeth May [Green]: GVHA shows concern for community, says May, comparing it to the Vancouver port authority which has “significant issues and inefficiencies and has never consulted First Nations” as it expands and puts many species at risk. May suggests that port authorities and airport authorities for having more accountability to local governments. And as for export: “Capture the value of our resources, no more’ rip and ship’. Export products only after the value-added,” said May. “Protect resources in advance with strategic reserves, capture that value, get that raw material to the mills that wan it for Canadian jobs and then use that Canadian lumber to build Canadian houses rather than ship it off shore,” said May. The working harbour also needs to protect the Salish Sea and explore greater partnership with First Nations, said May. She looks forward to seeing new trading relationships all around the world.
Infrastructure Projects
The CEO of Destination Greater Victoria is Paul Nursey. He emphasized the term “visitor economy” over the concept of ‘tourism industry’. Catalytic infrastructure can last for decades and spur economic prosperity, he pointed out.
The visitor economy is now Canada’s largest service sector, said Nursey including travel, conferences, and export. Goods are consumed by people from out of country, which makes it a service sector export. About $3.5 billion of that economy is in Greater Victoria. Two in five families have someone sustained in the industry either directly or indirectly.
Victoria is becoming a great place to visit and invest. He wants to see new infrastructure that produces a return on investment (ROI), such as a conference centre or a port.
The Belleville Terminal is a good case in point, which is project to revamp and modernize the inner harbour port where visitors arrive on ships from the United States. The journey to improve that facility has taken about 30 years, with an announcement in June 2023.
“Tourism aside, there is a need for infrastructure. What is your party’s view on the federal government’s role for well researched evidence-based infrastructure investments?,” said Nursey as his question to the candidates.
Elizabeth May [Green]: “You can count on Greens to be advocating for this,” said May, referring to infrastructure dollars for this region. She added that the Greens put effort into “finding ways to pay for things”. Many points of the Green platform are costed by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).”Tourism has enormous potential for this country. With Canadians staying home in response to Trump we need to make sure we attract investment, have the facilities to get more people to come here,” said May, promoting stay-cations in this country by Canadians and getting more people to visit here from international locations. “We are not investing sufficiently to capture that business,” said May.
Laurel Collins [NDP]: “We absolutely need to build a stronger, fairer more resilient economy — not just to weather the storm of Donald Trump but for the long term,” said Collins. She supports infrastructure investment “for people who live here and for people who visit to experience the majesty of Vancouver Island”. The NDP has proposed Victory Bonds to support infrastructure investment in things that will stand for decades to come and strengthen the economy including family-sustaining jobs.
Grant Cool [Conservative]: “Until we have a way to pay for it we have no way to do it,” said Cool. “We have to earn more money and decrease our debt,” he summarized. “That has to be our first and only job before we agree to spend anything more, other than the absolute necessities. We have a wonderful social structure in this country and we need to support it. And we are absolutely determined to not cut any aspects of it. But in the meantime we need to start earning more money, that means selling what we have. Until we do that, we can’t afford to build all these wonderful things that expand our opportunities,” said Cool.
Will Greaves [Liberal]. “Proposed investments and other infrastructure ideas will pay for themselves over time by creating new opportunities and new revenues for government and new incomes for business,” said Greaves. But in difficult economic times there are other priorities and competing demands, he noted. “But critical infrastructure are investments that will sustain and grow the economy over time — they are prudent investments in our development and our future and they are deeply necessary for us to weather the economic storm that is now upon us,” said Greaves. He points out that the federal government has created new programs to provide funds to municipalities to afford the various infrastructure projects that we’re describing. He mentioned the Canada Community Building Fund in that regard. “The destination economy is a vital part of our local economy, one that we want to continue to invest in so they can grow,” said Greaves, mentioning things like public transportation that will integrate the region more effectively and investing in new homes. He singularly pitched for a new hotel near the University of Victoria for a destination economy near that centre of learning and activity which is the second largest employer in Greater Victoria and the south island region.
Health-care concerns
A question from the audience was responded to by the four candidates regarding how to improve the availability of family doctors for more people in this region.
===== RELATED:
Victoria Chamber invites four federal candidates to discuss business issues (April 15, 2025)
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