Lək̓ʔəŋən [LEKWUNGEN] TERRITORY / VICTORIA, B.C. — Emily Lowan, Leader of the BC Green Party, announced today that the BC Greens will not renew the Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord (CARGA) with the BC NDP. Lowan emphasized that the BC NDP holds a majority in the legislature, and any decision to call an election rests solely with Premier Eby and his government.
“Let’s be clear from the start,” said Lowan. “The BC NDP has a majority. They can govern, pass budgets, and call an election whenever they choose. If the Premier decides to trigger an election, that is his decision — not ours.”
Jeremy Valeriote, MLA for West Vancouver Sea-to-Sky said, “CARGA was clear. These were tangible targets and policies meant to deliver real results for working people. Too many of those commitments have since been stalled or sidelined by the BC NDP. The Premier may think it’s acceptable to ignore review recommendations and walk away from shared projects; we do not. If the government can’t deliver on what it already promised, there’s no reason British Columbians should believe it will deliver now.”
Lowan pointed to a few of the undelivered or stalled commitments from the BC NDP under CARGA:
Primary Health Care: Our healthcare system is failing British Columbians, which is why CARGA secured concrete commitments to expand community-based care. While important health system reviews and data collection initiated under the agreement have filled long-standing gaps and been widely welcomed by healthcare workers, the BC NDP has failed to act on their own findings. Most notably, the $15 million committed to support new and existing Community Health Centres has yet to be spent, leaving working families without the care they were promised.
Transit: While CARGA committed to expanding frequent, reliable, and affordable transit on key corridors, including Vancouver Island and the Sea-to-Sky route, the BC NDP has delivered no concrete action that would put a single new bus on the road in 2026.
Electoral Reform: The accord identified democratic reform, including work toward proportional representation, as a shared priority. An all-party Special Committee recommended the creation of a People’s Assembly on electoral reform, and an EKOS poll found that 75% of British Columbians support moving toward proportional representation. Despite this clear direction, Premier Eby has seemingly dismissed further consideration of proportional representation, without fully considering the recommendations of his own MLAs.
Lowan noted that while there have been some positive steps, including ending spousal clawbacks for disability assistance, the government has shown a troubling pattern of commissioning reviews and then letting them gather dust, rather than translating evidence into action for working people. “Information alone cannot fix a broken system,” Lowan said. “Reports are only meaningful if the government acts on them to deliver results.
“Working people can’t survive off promises and hand waving,” Lowan said. “Families who are struggling to find a home, access healthcare, or feed their kids don’t care about yet another shelved report; they care about tangible action.
“It’s become clear that the BC NDP is ceding their values to corporate interests,” said Lowan, pointing towards the rising levels of wealth inequality, poor treatment of labour unions, and BC’s working families treading water in the cost-of-living crisis. “This government isn’t willing to support workers — they haven’t fought for unions or stood up to the 1% — we will.”
Lowan also criticized Eby’s recent moves to amend the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), pointing to them as further evidence that the government has abandoned the values that underpinned CARGA. “Reconciliation is not a political convenience,” said Lowan. “A government that is willing to weaken Indigenous rights for political expediency cannot expect our support. When Indigenous rights are on the chopping block, so are the rights of working people across BC.
“We are proud to be the only party in British Columbia consistently standing up for the workers: on labour, on affordability, and on our climate,” said Lowan. “We know that the status quo cannot hold for British Columbians. Only real change will bring us a province working people can afford.”
Lowan concluded with a stark question for the province:
“If this government can’t keep the promises it signed, how can we trust it to keep any? The BC Greens and British Columbians are not interested in more flip-flopping and political cowardice from Eby. The only way to take back our economy for working families and deliver affordability is by challenging corporate power: the BC NDP won’t — we will.”
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