---
title: "Most BC mayors back Doerkson's plan to repeal provincial housing density law"
description: "Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson says he will repeal Bill 44, the law that required municipalities to allow more units on residential lots. Most mayors interviewed by the Vancouver Sun said they support the change."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/bc-mayors-support-doerkson-repeal-bill44-november-2026"
last_updated: "2026-11-02T14:27:02.356Z"
---

The Vancouver Sun reported on Nov. 2, 2026 that premier-designate [Lorne Doerkson](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/lorne-doerkson) has told mayors he will repeal Bill 44, the provincial law that required municipalities to allow more homes on residential lots. Most mayors interviewed by the paper said they support removing that requirement.

Doerkson told the Vancouver Sun he does not believe the legislature in Victoria has any right to tell communities like Penticton, Chilliwack or his home community of Williams Lake how to build housing. He said the new government will take an approach built on "respect and support" for communities, rather than dictating to them.

## What Bill 44 required

The Vancouver Sun reported that Bill 44, introduced in 2023 by the NDP, required all municipalities of more than 5,000 residents to allow construction of up to 4 units on a single-family lot, and up to 6 units on a lot near transit. A separate law, Bill 43, allowed the province to set housing targets for municipalities and place advisers into those that missed them.

Doerkson said he plans to repeal Bill 44 and may also repeal Bill 43. The Vancouver Sun reported he reiterated this position in a conversation with Postmedia News.

## What mayors said

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West told the Vancouver Sun he was one of 16 Metro Vancouver mayors who urged the province to roll back Bills 43 and 44 in December 2025. He called the NDP's approach to local government "borderline arrogant" and said he looks forward to seeing whether Doerkson takes a different approach.

## What the platform promised

The Conservative platform, on page 6, promised that local governments and residents would decide where new density goes and what it looks like, with municipalities held to their own existing Official Community Plans. This promise is tracked at the [BC provincial tracker](/bc/provincial-2026/tracker#gov-promise-local-say-on-density).

BC residents who want to follow the government's decisions on this housing law can check the tracker at [/bc/provincial-2026/tracker#gov-promise-local-say-on-density](/bc/provincial-2026/tracker#gov-promise-local-say-on-density).

## Sitemap

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