In one of her first acts, new Lt.-Gov. Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia laid out the government’s plan to keep the economy strong amid Trump threats.
The B.C. legislature resumed Tuesday with the traditional speech from the throne, but one this year that was geared towards tackling one problem only: tariffs.
In one of her first official acts as lieutenant governor, Wendy Cocchia read out the NDP-written speech and its plans to tackle U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs on Canadian exports to its southern neighbour.
The speech began with the now familiar refrain being voiced across the country that Canada “will never be the 51st state” despite Trump’s repeated suggestions Canada should join the United States for its own economic and military protection.
“We open this first session of British Columbia’s 43rd Parliament at the most consequential time for our province since the Second World War,” it said. “In the face of an unprecedented and unjustified threat to our economy, British Columbians are joining with all Canadians to fight back.”
The statements come as the government prepares to release its 2025 budget on March 4. Last week, Finance Minister Brenda Bailey announced the NDP’s signature promise of a $1,000 grocery rebate has been scrapped due to the possibility of an “economic war” with the U.S.
Here are the takeaways from Tuesday’s speech:
Economy, economy, economy
The bulk of the throne speech focused on actions intended to safeguard B.C.’s economy against the aggressiveness of the new administration in Washington D.C.
With promises to accelerate permitting for natural resource projects, including major developments in the critical mineral, clean energy and natural gas sectors, expand relationships with other trading partners and break down interprovincial trade barriers, the NDP is putting new emphasis on old commitments.
“A new coalition of leaders in business, labour unions and First Nations are partnering with government,” Cocchia read.
“Together, we are executing a made-in-B.C. plan: To speed up permitting and regulatory approvals, to train the next generation of skilled tradespeople; to attract private capital, while expanding our electricity production; To support emerging industries, from technology to life sciences; and to increase manufacturing opportunities.”
Premier David Eby acknowledged to reporters that the focus of the speech, and indeed of the spring session, was completely changed by Trump’s election and his position towards Canada.
“We were and have been preparing for lower interest rates, easing pressure on British Columbians, assisting businesses in reinvesting, expansion of our economy, continuing that work,” said Eby.
“Clearly, this is a different environment. We’re now facing a scenario where there are tariffs threatened that will put Canada’s and British Columbia’s economy on the back foot, and we need to make sure that we’re meeting the moment.”
Conservative Leader John Rustad accused Eby of simply looking for an enemy amid his government’s failure to address any of the issues facing the province.
He specifically pointed to the toxic drug crisis and the long wait times for resource projects to get development approval.
“He wants to be able to blame somebody for his failure,” Rustad told reporters.
“When you look at the budget, look at what this government has done to this province, whether it is the 16,000 people that have died from overdoses, whether it is the failure to be able to really move any sort of resource projects, and whether it’s the lack of confidence by people who invest in this province, he wants an enemy, and so he’s doing everything he can to generate that enemy.”
Green Interim Leader Jeremy Valeriote, meanwhile, credited the government for recognizing some of the main issues facing British Columbians.
He said those words now need to be backed up by action.
“It’s easy to employ wartime analogies in face of a fresh, headline-grabbing crisis, but a government with a real vision for the future needs to be laser focused on delivering results to all the longstanding crises British Columbians are facing,” said Valeriote.
Strengthening health care and delivering on “kitchen-table issues”
There wasn’t much in the way of new commitments in Tuesday’s speech with the NDP taking a “stay the course” approach to governing during economic uncertainty.
Campaign promises remain to build 300,000 more homes over 10 years, fast-track the credentials process for internationally-trained health-care workers and expand the use of involuntary care for people with severe addictions.
The throne speech also teased legislation in the coming months to “protect British Columbians from credit-card fraud, unfair practices by cellphone companies, and to recover health-care costs from wrongdoers.”
Other bills mentioned include changes to make the B.C. Energy Regulator a “one window” for permits for the North Coast Transmission Line between Prince George and Terrace and speed-up the development of other infrastructure projects like roads and highways.
Eby said these bills to free-up the permitting process for the power line and improve infrastructure development are part of the goal to reduce barriers to trade between provinces and improve the Canadian economy.
He pointed out that while resource projects are important in achieving this, a lot of the work will be around regulations that prevent people from engaging in professions like construction, health care or law anywhere in the country.
“There’s work to be done around products like alcohol and and other controlled products that the provinces have significant oversight in relation to,” he said. “But I think the low hanging fruit is really in relation to services. When you’re an engineer, when you’re a lawyer, when you’re a doctor, when you provide services of one kind or another and you’re certified and you’re safe to provide those services in one province, you should be certified and safe to provide those services across Canada.”
“True north strong and free”
In rhetoric stronger than anything said so far by Eby or his government, the throne speech made comparisons between the effort needed to respond American threats and the storming of the beaches in Normandy during the Second World War.
“While the recent threats from the U.S. administration have felt like a betrayal, they have
awoken something powerful in Canadians,” the speech read.
“You can see it everywhere you go. People are considering their choices carefully. When planning the next vacation, they’re choosing to travel locally. At the grocery store, they’re looking for a ‘made in Canada’ or ‘BuyBC’ logo. We are all saying with one unified voice: our country is not for sale.”
It pointed out the long relationship between Canada and the U.S., which includes numerous relationships between families on both sides of the largest undefended border in the world.
At the same time, the speech touted the strong Canadian social safety net as a key difference and said this country also has more robust democratic institutions.
“As proud British Columbians and Canadians, we are called on to meet this moment. The same way we always do: by working together and looking out for each other,” the conclusion of the speech said.
“Together, we will build a stronger, more secure future. Here in the best province in the greatest country in the world. The true north, strong and free.”
Asked about the symbolism of the speech, Eby simply said that many of the moments in history when British Columbians and Canadians came together in a united front were in response to wars.
He said that what Trump is threatening is a form of warfare.
“Regardless of whether your house is bombed or whether you’re foreclosed from it because you’re fired, it makes very little difference to a family and and this feels to British Columbians and Canadians, and I think rightly so, like an unprovoked attack.”
New speaker, same as the old speaker
In the only other notable event at the legislature on Tuesday, Raj Chouhan, NDP MLA for Burnaby-New Westminster, was officially acclaimed as Speaker after having been announced in November as the NDP’s nominee.
Fellow NDP MLA Mable Elmore was named deputy speaker, while Conservative MLA Lorne Doerkson was appointed assistant deputy speaker.
Eby had been trying to lure a Conservative or a Green to serve as Speaker in an attempt to give his party a more than one-seat majority but was unable to do so.
“It’s a profound honour for me to get re-elected in the role of Speaker. Our province, everybody knows, is the best place on earth to live and work,” Chouhan told the assembled members of the legislature after getting “dragged” to the speaker’s chair by Government House Leader Mike Farnworth and Conservative House Leader Á’a:líya Warbus.
“To best serve the people of our province, the debates in the house can be vigorous, but they must be rooted in a mutual respect and a shared commitment to all British Columbians. We show our unity not by agreeing on every item but in affording each other opportunity for healthy and fulsome debate.”
He committed to “protect every member’s rights to be heard and foster an environment where diverse perspectives are respected.”
At the end of the brief ceremony, Chouhan led all 93 representatives in a stirring rendition of the Canadian national anthem, a move that is rare but not unprecedented in the province’s history.