---
title: "Three BC leaders debate economy, housing and Indigenous rights law in only televised debate"
description: "NDP leader David Eby, Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson and Green leader Emily Lowan faced off in the only televised debate of the BC provincial campaign on 14 October, covering government finances, housing, cost of living and a proposed Indigenous rights law."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/bc-leaders-debate-october-14-2026-recap"
last_updated: "2026-10-17T18:42:32.831Z"
---

The three British Columbia party leaders held the only televised debate of the provincial campaign on 14 October 2026. The debate ran for 1 hour and 45 minutes and was organized by a consortium of provincial television broadcasters. The Tyee reported on what each leader said.

[David Eby](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/david-eby) of the BC NDP, [Lorne Doerkson](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/lorne-doerkson) of the Conservative Party of BC, and [Emily Lowan](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/emily-lowan) of the BC Green Party took part. The format gave each leader opening time on each topic, followed by open-debate segments, The Tyee reported.

## What each leader said

Eby said the province was at an existential moment and defended his government's record. He promised to freeze car insurance for three years, act on grocery store profits, and crack down on oil and gas price gouging, according to The Tyee. On the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, he said there is only one path forward and that is partnership with Indigenous people.

Doerkson said he would repeal that legislation if elected. He put the focus of the debate on Eby's record and said the election was about the past ten years of NDP government. On the economy, he said he would fund the Conservative platform through growth rather than new taxes. The NDP put the total cost of Conservative promises at $5 billion, The Tyee reported. Doerkson said his party would cover the commitments by expanding the provincial economy.

Lowan, 26, proposed taxing wealth above $50 million to fund universal child care, free transit and social housing. She said the Green Party would make passing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act a condition for supporting a minority government, according to The Tyee.

## What was not covered

The Tyee reported that the broadcaster consortium did not include schools, the environment, colleges and universities, ferries, transit, wildfires, energy, agriculture, labour laws, parks or conservation in the debate's topics.

## What voters can do before 24 October

Advance voting opens 16 October and runs until 21 October. Voters can compare party platforms on the [BC NDP](/bc/provincial-2026/parties/bc-ndp), [Conservative Party of BC](/bc/provincial-2026/parties/conservative-party-of-bc) and [BC Green Party](/bc/provincial-2026/parties/bc-green-party) pages on this site. The latest polling is at [/bc/provincial-2026/polls](/bc/provincial-2026/polls).

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/bc/provincial-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.