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Provincial Election 2020: Post Mortem
CHBA BC
Found below is a brief status update and analysis of the initial provincial election results and what can be expected for the new incoming government at this time. While we wait for the official results in the weeks to come, CHBA BC will be preparing congratulatory letters that will be sent to all MLAs.
Initial and Final Election Results: Election polls closed on Saturday, October 24th, with the B.C. NDP projected to take 55 of B.C.'s 87 ridings, compared to 29 for the Liberals and 3 for the Green Party.
The final count of the election normally starts 13 days after Election Day (Oct. 24th) and typically runs for three days, however, due to the large volume of mail-in ballots in the 2020 Provincial General Election, this timeline may be extended.
NDP Forming Government and Cabinet: Legally, the new NDP government cannot form a cabinet until after all the mail-in votes are counted and counting cannot begin until November 6. Although it is not expected to alter the election outcome (a majority NDP government), there are some ridings that could change once the votes are officially counted.
Once the final results are announced, MLAs and ministers will change, and new staffers will be appointed moving forward. It will be CHBA BC’s key focus to identify the new leadership and who the key decision-makers and staff contacts are for relationship-building purposes.
It is anticipated that the NDP may also create a larger cabinet to reflect the change of representation in new regions as well as to more appropriately address complex challenges brought on by the pandemic. We will closely monitor who the potential cabinet members may be, as well as any changes that might be made to ministry structures and mandates. For example, municipal affairs could be decoupled from housing given its large portfolio.
Context of the Initial Election Results (Optional Info): The B.C. Liberals lost their share of the vote in every region of the province in Saturday's election, but those losses hurt the party most in the Fraser Valley and suburban Vancouver. Andrew Wilkinson has resigned as leader of the B.C. Liberal Party, two days after the party had its worst provincial election outcome in decades.
It will be the first majority government for the NDP in British Columbia since 1996, and while the B.C. Liberals will stand as the Official Opposition, it will be with the lowest seat count the party has had since 1991.
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COVID-19 Reminder from Fraser Valley Health (FVH)
FVH
Due to rapidly increasing COVID-19 cases in Fraser Health, Fraser Valley Health is asking the business community to revisit their COVID-19 safety plans and step up measures where needed for the protection of ourselves, our loved ones and our communities.
Physical Distancing
Physical distancing doesn’t just apply at an employee’s regular workstation. Make sure there is physical distancing in every place an employee goes during their day, and during every task they perform.
Physical distancing must also apply to all common locations, e.g lunch rooms, break rooms, bathrooms, punch stations, equipment rooms, locker rooms and any other common areas where employees normally gather. These are areas where we are now seeing COVID-19 transmission.
New Resources and Webpage
Fraser Health has a new information bulletin and webpage specific to employers. It is available on their webpage.
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Georgie's Corner
This is it CHBA BC members, there are less than 48 hours for you to submit your entry to the 2021 Georgie Awards. The deadline for your entries close at 8:00 pm PST on Friday, October 30th, 2020. Don't forget to include all associate companies for them to be properly recognized too!
For more information on entering the Georgie Awards® look here. Think you're up to the challenge? You can submit your entry for the 2021 Georgie Awards® here.
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- 1st or 2nd mortgages
- Fully open terms
- Quick turn around on draws
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COVID Economic Impact Survey Winners and Preliminary Results
CHBA BC
Thank you to all those that participated in this season's COVID economic impact survey. We received the largest response to a survey of ours yet, with great help from our local EOs.
A shout out and congratulations are also due to the following randomly picked winners of the $25 Starbucks GC:
CHBA Central Interior: Chad Jensen — New Dawn Developments
CHBA Central Okanagan: Sandy Morris — SandMor Construction
CHBA South Okanagan: Amber Arnott — Robinson Lighting
CHBA Vancouver Island: Dave Stephens — Lida Homes Inc.
CHBA Northern BC: Ed Rebelo — Fortwood Homes Ltd
HAVAN: Shannon Haerdi — First Impression Designs Inc.
CHBA Fraser Valley: Brad Mueller — BNR Electric
CHBA Sea-to-Sky: Sabrina Tucci — Westport Construction
Below are some quick preliminary survey takeaways, the full results will come in the following weeks:
Approximately 70% of our respondents have noted an increase in the length of time it takes for their permits to be approved since June 2020, this is up from 50% of respondents who saw an increase in permit approval timing from the previous survey conducted in May, reflecting a possible beginning trend of further delays occurring throughout the permit approval timelines.
One of the most significant takeaways from this survey is the changes in layoffs seen by respondents between the two data sets (May and October surveys). Layoffs of between 1-4 staff members went down from 43 per cent to 30 per cent, while no layoffs at all increased from 35 per cent to 56 per cent.
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B.C. construction workers miss job recovery
Business In Vancouver
Construction employment slumped sharply by 6.8 per cent or 14,600 persons from August and was down 17 per cent from pre-pandemic February.
Housing starts declined about 25 per cent in Metro Vancouver and Abbotsford-Mission, 60 per cent in Kelowna and 14 per cent in Victoria, the federal housing agency noted, compared to a month earlier.
A key reason is a steep decline in B.C. housing start. Annualized urban-area housing starts fell to 30,670 in September, compared to a pace of 41,530 units in August, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) reports.
However, units under construction remain elevated with 60,270 units at various stages of completion. This is down 3.4 per cent from a year ago, but marks a historically high level due to the complexity of multi-family projects being built and strong pace of starts last year, according to CMHC. Nearly three quarters of units being built are in Metro Vancouver.
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Vancouver getting $51.5 million, Surrey to receive $16 million from Ottawa for low-income housing
CTV News
Roughly $80 million will be spread among three B.C. cities as the federal government unveils its $1 billion Rapid Housing Initiative.
The program was announced this morning and includes $500 million shared among 15 Canadian cities to help buy properties to build or renovate for low-income housing.
Vancouver receives $51.5 million, Surrey is in line for $16 million and Victoria gets $13 million, while Canada's largest city, Toronto, receives $203 million.
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