BC Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon re-elected in Delta North

Ravi Kahlon. (Government of BC)

Ravi Kahlon, arguably the most prominent member of the previous BC NDP-led provincial government aside from David Eby due to his cabinet role, is projected to win re-election.

He is projected to win in the riding of Delta North with 10,689 votes (52.5%), based on the interim results as of 10:45 pm, with all seven advance voting ballot boxes and 12 of the 12 final voting day ballot boxes counted.

Raj Veauli of the Conservative Party of BC secured 8,231 votes (40.4%), while Nick Dickinson-Wilde of the BC Green Party earned 1,259 votes (6.2%).

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For much of the past two years, ever since Eby became Premier in late 2022, Kahlon has held the pivotal role of BC Minister of Housing, becoming the face of the BC NDP’s historically significant housing affordability and supply policies.

Nearly a year ago, Eby and Kahlon began announcing a range of pieces of housing supply-related legislation.

Some of the most consequential pieces of legislation include requiring higher-density transit-oriented residential development around SkyTrain stations and bus exchanges, enabling small-scale, multi-unit housing on single-family detached neighbourhoods across the province, and setting new annual housing completion quotas for municipal governments to abide to.

The various measures have been lauded by housing activists and supporters who often asserted such moves are overdue, but it has also received significant opposition from those who believe that it brings too much change, including those who assert that the infrastructure needed to support the growth is missing.

Some municipal governments have also been outright opposed to the legislation, taking issue with how it takes urban planning decisions away from cities. As well, some jurisdictions are having challenges with funding community amenities and infrastructure under new legislation relating to how municipal governments can collect development-related fees.

During the election campaign, John Rustad’s Conservative Party of BC stated they would abolish the BC NDP’s small-scale, multi-unit housing legislation, and amend the transit-oriented development legislation.

The BC NDP’s key housing-related platform promises included the new policies of raising the rate for the speculation and vacancy tax, introducing a program where the government initially covers 40% of a home price, and subsidizing home insurance covering unpaid rent and property damages to encourage more individual homeowners to rent out their homes or suites.

Kahlon was first elected as the MLA of Delta North in 2017. Prior to becoming the BC Minister of Housing, Kahlon was the BC Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery, and Innovation. He also competed for Team Canada in field hockey at the Summer Olympics in Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008.

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