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Party commitments and news

Water in the Election

Follow party announcements, news coverage and commentary about drinking water, industrial water use, floods, drought and healthy watersheds.

Party commitments on water

Selected commitments from party platforms and campaign announcements. Select a party to read its commitments.

Updated October 18, 2026

BC Green PartyPlatform excerpts
  • Modernize industrial water rental rates so that large industrial users pay a fair price for the water they use. Bring rates into line with other Canadian provinces, using Quebec as a minimum benchmark, while protecting household, agricultural and small-business users
  • Put the Watershed Security Fund on stable, long-term footing, with $75 million in annual funding supported by modernized industrial water rates. This will fund Indigenous and community-led watershed governance, monitoring, restoration, planning and local watershed jobs including work to support restoring the landscape’s ability to slow and store water, recharge aquifers, and cool waterways to protect aquatic life
  • Establish and fund regional watershed boards with First Nations, local governments and local water users to coordinate watershed planning, monitoring, restoration and proactive drought response, with meaningful authority over decisions affecting the watersheds they steward. Ensure major activities that affect watershed health, including forestry and development, are incorporated into watershed planning and accountable to watershed objectives
  • Use the tools within the Water Sustainability Act to their full potential where necessary, including critical environmental flow thresholds, responsive and flexible water license review and transfers, and water sustainability plans. Support communities and First Nations to lead these processes through locally driven monitoring and drought assessments, collective decision-making, planning guided by community objectives, and risk management strategies
BC NDPPlatform excerpts
  • Strengthening watershed protection: $30 million per year to provide the BC Watershed Security Fund with sustainable, long-term funding and secure healthy watersheds and thriving communities for generations
  • Safeguarding our water from AI data centres: Setting strict new water-efficiency standards, mandated public reporting of water use, and requiring engagement with local communities on conservation and drought planning
CentreBCPlatform excerpts
  • Protect our watersheds. We will double the Watershed Security Fund to $200 million. It will support local projects for drinking water, salmon and flood protection. Farms need water security too: a farm water stream will help build reservoirs, irrigation, dugouts and aquifer recharge, starting in regions with repeated drought, and reach $15 million a year once the fund is doubled
  • Farmers will have a formal seat in watershed planning
Conservative Party of BCCampaign announcement
  • Commit $400 million toward down payments on new water bombers and other firefighting aircraft to fight wildfires.

Party platform still to be released.

Announcements, coverage and commentary

Read original news coverage, party announcements and commentary. Links are included for information; CodeBlue BC does not support or oppose any political party or candidate.