In the second week of the five-week election campaign, all the candidates, including those for the West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country riding, are out electioneering in full force.
The Squamish Chief caught up with Conservative Party candidate Keith Roy just after he finished a door-knocking blitz on the Sunshine Coast, for an interview about a wide range of topics.
The long-time realtor lives in Whistler with his wife and young son.
Roy was nominated to represent his party in March of 2024 and has been in campaign mode ever since.
What follows is a version of our conversation, which took place Friday, edited for length and clarity.
Q: From where you started as the nominee in the spring of 2024, to now, so much has happened in the world. Obviously, voters are thinking about U.S. President Donald Trump a lot. What are you concerned about with him in terms of the Sea to Sky?
A: There's an overwhelming sense of concern vis-à-vis Donald Trump that has permeated Canada, and rightfully so. There are still all of the domestic problems that the Liberals have left us. And so when I'm talking with people at the doors ... they are certainly concerned about Donald Trump. They're still very concerned about Canada's domestic position—crime, deficits, lack of homes, all those issues still exist. The Liberals would love to think that all of those things have gone away.
Q: Over this last year, the Conservatives and leader, Pierre Poilievre, were at the top of all the polls for a good while, until Trump was elected and his threats began.
Now the polls have flipped with Liberals in the lead. What do you make of that, with this short election campaign?
A: It is a fear reaction by Canadians who are questioning what the new landscape of the world looks like.
Q: Can you walk me through the big things the Conservatives would do that would make it better for Sea to Sky businesses?
A: We will reduce the tax burden that businesses pay, that will be a forthcoming announcement. We will reduce personal income taxes by 15%, saving the average family money that they will then be able to spend in the community. We will bring in a dollar-for-dollar spending law to stop the ever-burdening debt and deficit so that any new dollar of spending has to be met with $1 of savings somewhere else. We just need to stop the ballooning before it pops. We will stop the inflationary money printing that this government and this prime minister have advocated for. All of this is about restoring the promise of Canada, where you can build a small business and be successful in doing so.
[Note: The tax cut would drop the tax rate on the lowest income tax bracket from 15% to 12.75%. See the Conservative news release on this here.]
Q: And reducing capital gains tax, right?
A: We were the only party that was very vocal about the Liberal desire to increase capital gains.
[The day after this interview, Pierre Poilievre announced that any person or business selling an asset will pay no capital gains tax when they reinvest the proceeds in Canada. Companies that reinvest in active Canadian businesses would also defer any capital gains tax. According to a Conservative news release, “these gains will still be taxed later on when investors cash out or move the money out of Canada. The break will be available on any reinvestments done until the end of 2026.”]
Q: You have a young family, and there are lots of young families in Squamish. Can you speak to policies that will help young families?
A: We have announced that we will retain all of the existing child care funding agreements. I want to make that point, because the Liberals are scaremongering on this issue. I am the father of a four-year-old. I am very familiar with the thought of daycare. I understand the challenges it presents for young families. I want to make that very clear to your audience. I'm proud to stand with a party that is going to retain those agreements. I'll turn it back to one of my earlier comments, we are going to reduce income taxes for everyone by 15%, which is going to provide savings for the average family. I want to see [parents of young children] represented in Parliament, and I want to see our children have the promise of Canada restored. That's why I ran for the nomination. Looking forward to my son graduating, I don't think he has the same opportunities that I did when I graduated.
Q: A lack of housing is obviously a huge issue in Squamish. Can you speak to that and what the Conservatives would do?
A: Great news, we made an announcement that we're going to remove GST on new homes up to $1.3 million and this makes a big difference in a place like Squamish. That is a direct savings of up to $65,000 for a young family buying a new townhouse at SEAandSKY [housing development].
You open up a lot of new opportunities for people with $65,000.
One of the main reasons housing prices have risen so dramatically is that the Liberals broke the immigration system and allowed over a million people a year into Canada, which put too much pressure on the housing system. So what we have said is we are going to tie immigration numbers to housing completions so that we have enough houses for the people we bring, while simultaneously catching up and building enough houses for the people who are already here. We will tie immigration to housing completions, not housing starts—completions.
We will eliminate the billions of housing-related bureaucracies that the Liberals have created, and we will put the money into places where the gatekeepers are removed and the houses get built.
For example, the Liberals currently pay federal infrastructure money to municipalities that continually raise Development Cost Charges and block new homes from being built. What we will do is, through the federal infrastructure money, we will pay communities that build more homes, so if they build 15% more homes, they will get 15% more money. If they build 15% fewer homes, they will get 15% less money. They will not get paid until the homes are built, which will incentivize the municipalities to sharpen their pencil and get the homes that Canadians need built.
Q: As you know, we have the only BC Green Party MLA in the Lower Mainland area. The environment is a huge issue here. Can you speak to things about the environment that Conservative policies would help enhance or that would protect?
A: We believe climate change and pollution are a global problem, and we want to use Canada's energy and Canada's resources to offset global emissions and pollution. For example, we should manufacture more steel in Canada, rather than in China [which emits more emissions than steel made in Canada]. The world will be better off if we do that. We should get Canadian resources to markets beyond America. We should sell our LNG to China and India and offset coal-fired plants.
Our party has been talking about this for years, and the Liberals have ignored us.
Q: Reading the Conservative policy document, do I have it right, the Conservative Party is still about having renewable energy and new ideas for renewable industries, but it is also about transitioning, so LNG and supporting that, too. Have I got it kind of right?
A: I think you have it in reverse. We already have the resources, and you've kind of predated the resources with the transition. We have the resources. Canada should be the richest country in the world. We are blessed with an abundance of resources. We need to harvest those resources for the benefit of our people.
It's a Canada-first policy. That doesn't preclude responsible environmental stewardship. One great example of this is Woodfibre LNG where the local Squamish Nation is enforcing the environmental conditions that have been set forth. If you can't trust the local First Nations to look after the environment on a project, who can you trust?
They're doing a great job, and we're getting Canadian resources out of the ground, and we're creating jobs that produce powerful paycheques and benefits for communities all across Canada.
[On March 31, after this interview, Poilievre announced, if elected, he will create a “Canada First” National Energy Corridor to fast-track approvals for transmission lines, railways, pipelines, and other critical infrastructure across the country, in a pre-approved transport corridor, transporting resources “within Canada and to the world while bypassing the United States.”]
Q: Perhaps this is an unfair question, but the stereotype is that Conservatives wouldn't work [well] with First Nations?
A: Let's make this very clear for your readers, Pierre Poilievre came to Squamish and met with the Squamish First Nation [members] and announced in Squamish our Indigenous policies that will make Canada's Indigenous people the wealthiest people in Canada. That is what we want for them because it is right for them. It will be good for Canada. It will be good for First Nations. It's why Chief Dale Harry is supporting me in the campaign.
Q: Anything else—one thing—you would like to stress?
A: I have a policy disagreement with the Green Party in the Sea to Sky. I think Canada should harvest its resources with responsible environmental stewardship for the benefit of us locally and Canadians everywhere. And as far as I can tell, Miss [Lauren] Greenlaw would like to lock up all of our Canadian resources. Mr. [Patrick] Weiler doesn't appear to have any conviction on this position at all. I think the conversation in Squamish is between people who support the Green Party and people who support us. That's what I'm hearing when I'm at the doors. If you want to develop resources in a responsible way in Canada, you should vote for the Conservative Party. If you want to lock up resources in the ground and suffer the economic consequences, you should vote for the Green Party. It is a binary choice, particularly given the threat coming out of the United States.
The General Election is set for Monday, April 28.
Other candidates for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country include incumbent Liberal MP Patrick Weiler, Lauren Greenlaw of the Green Party of Canada, NDP candidate Jäger Rosenberg, People's Party of Canada candidate Peyman Askari and Animal Protection Party of Canada candidate Sanaz Mani.
Editor's note: A line has been added since this story was first published to clarify the 15% tax cut noted by Roy.
