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B.C. election: Key developments from Day Three on the campaign trail

B.C. election: Key developments from Day Three

VANCOUVER — A look at some key developments from Day Three of the B.C. election campaign for each of the parties:

NDP:

— New Democrat Leader John Horgan says his party platform will create 96,000 jobs and build 114,000 homes.

— The platform includes $717 million in new spending for this fiscal year but the NDP is still forecasting a $108 million surplus for 2017-18 by generating new revenue and finding savings in government spending. The Liberals' projected a surplus of $295 million in the 2017-18 budget they released before the election.

— The NDP is projecting budget surpluses of $131 million in 2018-19 and $80 million 2019-20.

— The platform also promises to roll back an increase in auto insurance rates and a freeze or reduce fares on BC Ferries, while reversing a Liberal tax cut for high-income earners and hiking the corporate tax rate.

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LIBERALS:

— Liberal Leader Christy Clark campaigned in Kitimat to push her party's support for the liquefied natural gas industry.

— One LNG plant is expanding and another is under construction, but Clark predicts the industry will grow because global demand is forecast to increase by almost 50 per cent by 2040.

— The Liberals' Mike de Jong, who serves as finance minister in Clark's cabinet, says the NDP's platform proposals would cost at least $4 billion a year and lead to a credit downgrade.

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GREENS:

— Green party Leader Andrew Weaver campaigned in Sidney Thursday where the Greens managed a tight race in 2013.

 

ALBERTA NDP:

— Alberta's NDP premier reminded people working for her government where their loyalties should lie.

— Rachel Notley says it would be difficult for anybody who works for her government to support candidates that oppose the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, a project she described as crucial to Alberta's interests.

— The B.C. Liberals support the pipeline, while the NDP and Greens oppose it.

The Canadian Press