B.C. Premier David Eby has promised to cap retail profit margins on milk, eggs, cheese, butter and poultry if the NDP is re-elected, a pledge his Conservative rivals say rings hollow because an earlier grocery rebate never arrived, according to Global News and Castanet.
Eby announced the “price guard” proposal on Friday, Oct. 2, in Kelowna, according to Castanet. Global News reports it would also require per-unit pricing on grocery shelves, remove real estate barriers that block new grocery competitors and set up an independent food terminal in the Lower Mainland. “We have to take steps to make sure families are protected at this time,” Eby said, according to Global News.
The announcement matters for anyone watching their grocery bill, but the details are thin. Neither report says how the margin limit would be set, which retailers it would cover beyond what Castanet describes as corporate grocers, or when it would take effect. Those are the questions to press the party on before Oct. 24, the provincial election date reported by Daily Hive.
The rebate that never came
The pledge lands with history attached. Global News notes that Eby promised a $1,000 household grocery rebate in September 2024, then cancelled it in February 2025 because of the provincial deficit. Global News puts the province’s current budget shortfall at $13.8 billion.
Conservative interim leader Lorne Doerkson went after that record during a campaign stop in the Okanagan. “I’m a little frustrated with some of his promises,” he said, according to Castanet. “He obviously introduced a rebate for all of us two years ago. He didn’t carry through.”
Gavin Dew, the party’s Kelowna-Mission candidate, was sharper. “It’s like the arsonist offering to put out the fire,” Dew said, arguing Eby has “driven up the cost of living over the last nine years.” Dew’s alternative: “The best thing we can do to make sure that food is more affordable is strengthen the economy,” Castanet reports.
Conservatives pitch wildfire spending
The same day, the Conservatives put wildfire preparedness at the centre of their pitch. Global News reports Doerkson unveiled a plan worth about half a billion dollars. My South Okanagan Now, which covered the follow-up announcement in Summerland on Saturday, Oct. 3, reports the plan includes $400 million toward down payments on new water bombers and other firefighting aircraft, plus a $100 million fund to develop and buy wildfire detection technology. It would also streamline permitting for controlled burns.
Doerkson said the province “relies too heavily on short-term aircraft contracts,” according to My South Okanagan Now. To offset costs, the party proposes leasing Crown-owned aircraft to other jurisdictions in the winter months.
The location was chosen with care. Summerland was hit by the Bald Range wildfire this summer, which forced roughly 20,000 evacuations and damaged or destroyed about 150 structures, according to My South Okanagan Now.
Global News adds that the Conservatives also promise a tax freeze and a temporary 10 per cent PST cut on Canadian alcohol, which it estimates would cost about $250 million a year in revenue, with no service cuts.
What to watch
The two announcements show how both major parties are framing the campaign: the NDP on the daily cost of living, the Conservatives on climate-driven emergencies and the economy. For young voters juggling rent and food costs, the gap between promise and delivery may count for more than either headline. Doerkson’s wildfire plan also leaves open how a party facing a $13.8-billion deficit would pay for new aircraft on top of the alcohol tax cut.
Margin caps are untested in B.C., and economists often debate whether they lower prices or simply shift costs elsewhere. Readers should look for the NDP to publish costing and enforcement details. This story is developing, and we will update it as the parties release platform specifics.
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Via Global News: BC NDP promises to cap grocery profits while Conservatives unveil wildfire plan. Additional reporting: Castanet, My South Okanagan Now. The Oct. 24 election date rests on a single Daily Hive report.
