BC Conservatives promise major infrastructure spending on campaign trail

BC Conservatives Leader John Rustad is making some big provincial election promises aimed at commuters across the province.

If sent to office in the upcoming provincial election, Rustad is committing to expanding the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge between Vancouver and North Vancouver, rebuilding Highway 1 interchanges like the Brunette in Coquitlam, expanding Highway 1 through Chilliwack, and developing new bridges in Kelowna, Kamloops and over the Peace River.

He’s also promising to expand SkyTrain service in Surrey and studying regional rail for the Fraser Valley.

“A growing population needs a growing transit network. Metro Vancouver’s Mayors and TransLink have done excellent work to identify projects that would get people moving, but their work has fallen on deaf ears in Victoria by the NDP,” the Conservatives shared.

The party also wants to expand regional transit in the Sea-to-Sky corridor and implement a “zero-tolerance policy” for drug use, threats, and violence on transit.

“Offences against both riders and operators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and we will work with TransLink and the Transit Police to make sure they have all tools needed to keep the system safe,” the Conservatives said.

However, Rustad did not provide any kind of framework for how it would all be funded, only saying it would not come from new tolls.

Rustad and the Conservatives have yet to release their full platform as the countdown to the Oct. 19 election continues.