Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre visited Terrace on April 7, promising to overhaul Canada’s regulatory system with a new “one and done” approach to project approvals.
Poilievre said a single-window system for applications and environmental reviews would cut wait times to one year, with a target of six months. He pledged to approve 10 projects currently awaiting decisions, including the second phase of the $40-billion LNG Canada project in Kitimat.
Skeena-Bulkley Valley Conservative candidate Ellis Ross and Kitselas First Nation representative Cyrill Nabess attended the event. Poilievre praised Ross’s role in negotiating LNG Canada and said resource projects would bring wealth to First Nations along the coast.
The visit came days after Poilievre defended North Island–Powell River candidate Aaron Gunn over past comments on residential schools. Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach called on Poilievre to disqualify candidates who downplay survivors’ experiences, but Poilievre did not address the issue in Terrace.
Instead, he focused on economic policies, attacking Liberal legislation such as Bill C-69, which he called an “anti-development law.” He argued Conservatives would make Canada the world’s richest country by fast-tracking projects, cutting taxes, and introducing a “First Nation resource charge” that would direct tax revenues to Indigenous communities.
Poilievre also outlined a proposal for seniors, allowing them to earn up to $34,000 tax-free and raising the RRSP withdrawal age limit from 71 to 73. He criticized Canada’s reliance on U.S. markets and said the country should sell energy to Asia to displace coal.
Environmental groups, including the David Suzuki Foundation, challenged his claims about “clean natural gas,” warning LNG exports would still contribute to global warming.
Poilievre closed by promising that a Conservative government would “axe taxes, green light homes, mines, pipelines and LNG plants, and bring jobs back to Canada.”
