No matter where he goes in the riding, Keith Roy, Conservative candidate for West Vancouver鈥揝unshine Coast鈥揝ea to Sky Country, is hearing a similar tune from constituents with a federal election looming this spring.
鈥淰olunteers and I are knocking on doors and talking with people, from remote Pender Harbour to Pemberton, West Vancouver, every community across the riding, hearing what they鈥檙e looking for," he said. "There鈥檚 an overwhelming desire for change."
Roy,, said voters are looking for a change in results from the federal government, whether it pertains to the rising cost of housing, food bank use, lack of clean drinking water on reserves, the carbon tax, the fall economic statement, or the crumbling Liberal party.
鈥淓very metric by which you can measure our country is an abject failure. Housing costs have doubled. Whistler Community Services Society had its busiest food bank use day ever. That is an absolute tragedy. We see that across the country,鈥 he said.
鈥淚 would like people to be open-minded when meeting with me so I can listen to them and hear what issues matter to them. I鈥檇 like them to be open-minded to a new Conservative government focused on four things: axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, stop the crime.鈥
Campaigning on less government
The Conservatives have been vocal that removing the carbon tax is the answer to easing the cost of living for Canadians, which Roy echoed, adding another need is reducing 鈥渞ed tape in government.鈥
鈥淭here is too much government and too much bureaucracy," he said. "They didn鈥檛 hire firefighters and nurses. The federal government has hired these people who鈥檝e done nothing, and they could have redistributed to people to make their lives better.鈥
While Roy thinks cost of living is the most important issue for the riding, the uniting feature is traffic congestion.
When asked how regional transit could improve congestion on the Sea to Sky highway and what policies he鈥檇 champion, Roy said that would be left up to local governments.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 up to us to decide 鈥 the job for a local MP is to make that happen from a federal funding perspective. I don鈥檛 want a situation where we鈥檙e telling Whistler what to do,鈥 he said.
A hands-off approach is a theme for Roy and the Conservatives.
鈥淭his goes to our approach when we form government. We don鈥檛 believe Ottawa knows best," he said. "This is particularly important for Indigenous groups. [Ottawa] cuts cheques and tells them what to do with the money. In three successful elections, they promised clean drinking water on reserves. They鈥檙e trying to do this from Ottawa."
In 2015, soon-to-be-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. According to the Government of Canada鈥檚 monitoring, 147 long-term as of Nov. 7, 2024.
Other issues Roy will campaign on include reducing gun crime, violent crime, and hate crime, which he said are increasing.
Statistics Canada's , which was released in 2024, aligns with Roy鈥檚 statement on firearm-related violence. In 2022, police reported firearm violent crime increased by 1,400 incidents compared to 2021. The rate of violent firearm-related incidents increased by 8.9 per cent from 2021 to 2022, which is 鈥渢he highest rate recorded since comparable data were first collected in 2009.鈥
Housing policy
Roy, a Whistler real estate agent, didn鈥檛 mince words about keeping the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF).
鈥淭he housing accelerator fund will not continue with a Conservative government,鈥 he said.
The HAF provides funding for, and Pemberton was allocated $2.7 million in March 2024. The village has used the money to and, with an estimated 271 homes needed by 2029.
Roy proposes a model where funding is attached to units built instead of a policy aimed at spurring development.
鈥淭he HAF is designed so that local governments get paid for checking boxes, not delivering results," he said. "You can apply for a HAF, and if you meet the criteria, the money shows up. A lot of the homes don鈥檛 get built. Our government would give the money when the homes get built and the keys get handed over.鈥
Since the HAF was only recently announced in spring 2024, it鈥檚 impossible to say with certainty whether the homes will or will not get built at this time.
Roy suggested a percentage scheme where cities would receive, for example, 15 per cent more infrastructure funding if they produced 15 per cent more housing units, with pledged money held in a trust and delivered once houses were built.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has also said he would.
鈥楢 lame duck鈥 government
With Trudeau , Roy said it was too little, too late, and all Liberal Party lawmakers are culpable for the country's direction. Trudeau鈥檚 popularity plummeted amongst voters in the last year, and his finance minister and deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, resigned in late December, further pushing calls from within and without his party for new blood.
The resignation comes against a backdrop of a potential trade war sparked by incoming U.S. president Donald Trump.
鈥淭he Liberals aren鈥檛 apologizing for what they鈥檝e done. They鈥檙e getting rid of him because he鈥檚 an election liability鈥 these are all the same people who鈥檝e been there for the whole ride that gave us the results we鈥檝e had," Roy said. "Even those who鈥檝e criticized him aren鈥檛 saying the Liberals are the wrong choice. They just want a new guy. Our country is a lame duck, with the threat of tariffs and a rudderless government. We didn鈥檛 need him to resign. We need an election.鈥
Roy noted the New Democratic Party could have toppled the government in the fall with a non-confidence vote and provided citizens with an opportunity to go to the polls. Alternatively, the Liberals could have called an election instead of having an internal leadership race and proroguing parliament. He also criticized the riding's current MP, Patrick Weiler, for supporting the fall economic statement and other Liberal policies he said have led to the current state of Canada,.
鈥淧atrick Weiler could have prevented this," he said. "He voted in favour of every single piece of government legislation. He could have voted to bring down the government. He voted for the fall economic statement; he is just as guilty as the rest.鈥
The next federal election was expected to occur on or before Oct. 25, but Canadians will instead head to the polls in the next few months after the Liberal Party decides its new leader. The Liberals will then either call for an election themselves, or the NDP and Conservatives will call for a non-confidence vote.