SURREY, B.C. - The BC Greens rolled out three platform announcements on October 21, promising a freeze on domestic post-secondary tuition, new legal protections for people living in leasehold housing, and a reproductive healthcare plan. The announcements landed in the final stretch of the provincial campaign, with British Columbians voting on Saturday, October 24, 2026.
Each promise lands differently in Surrey. The tuition freeze would apply at public institutions across the province, including Kwantlen Polytechnic University, whose main campus sits in Newton. The leaseholder legislation would cover homes anywhere in B.C. And the reproductive health plan includes telehealth access to medication and full MSP coverage for post-partum depression support.
A tuition freeze and a new funding model
BC Greens candidate Andrew Appleton, running in Oak Bay-Gordon Head, announced the post-secondary package. The party would freeze domestic tuition and institutionally charged mandatory fees at public post-secondary institutions, and cap annual international tuition and mandatory-fee increases at inflation.
For KPU students in Surrey, that would mean domestic tuition held at current levels while they study, and a ceiling on how fast international fees can climb. The Greens say international tuition accounted for about 18 per cent of revenue across the public system until 2024, and up to 40 per cent at some institutions, and that federal study permit changes are expected to cut sector-wide tuition revenue by roughly $300 million a year, bringing hiring freezes, layoffs and program cuts.
“Every time tuition goes up, another young person decides college or university isn’t for them,” said Appleton. “Not because they aren’t capable, but because they can’t afford it.”
Beyond the freeze, the party would replace what it calls B.C.’s outdated post-secondary funding model through a public, system-wide review with new provincial funding on the table. The review would cover the roles and mandates of all 25 public institutions, regional access, trades and technical education, and transfers between institutions. The Greens would also expand non-market student housing on public campus land, with provincial capital funding for below-market homes, including family-sized units for students with children.
Legal protection for leaseholders
The second announcement, led by party leader Emily Lowan, promises legislation for people whose homes sit on long-term leasehold land, often under 99-year leases. The Greens estimate about 2,500 homes in B.C. are held this way, mostly in Victoria and Vancouver’s West End, and the protections would apply to leaseholders anywhere in the province, including Surrey.
Because leaseholds fall outside both the Residential Tenancy Act and the Strata Property Act, the party says residents have no cap on fee increases, no right to see how their money is spent, and no affordable way to dispute charges. The Greens say most people who took part in the Province’s 2024 engagement on the issue were seniors on low or fixed incomes.
“People living in housing subject to long-term leasehold contracts aren’t protected by the law, and corporate landlords are taking full advantage,” said Lowan.
The promised legislation would cap fee increases and special assessments, and limit charges for capital improvements. It would require audited financial statements and independent quotes on major projects, give residents the right to form a leaseholders’ association, and route disputes to the Civil Resolution Tribunal or the Residential Tenancy Branch instead of B.C. Supreme Court, with a ban on passing the owner’s dispute costs on to residents.
The Greens pointed to work already done on the issue. NDP MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert consulted with leaseholders in 2024 and wrote an extensive report, but the Greens say no legislation followed. “The solutions are obvious,” said Raj Sahota, the Greens’ candidate for Victoria-Beacon Hill. “People living in housing subject to long-term leasehold contracts deserve the full protection of the law.”
A reproductive healthcare plan
Lowan also launched the party’s reproductive healthcare plan. It would ensure mifepristone and misoprostol remain legally available through virtual telehealth clinics, with medication able to be shipped to patients, a route that matters for Surrey residents who would otherwise travel for care.
The plan would fully cover mental health support for post-partum depression under MSP, require fertility clinics to advertise full details on live birth success rates per cycle, including for add-on services, and review the midwifery funding model. It also promises sexual health services in community health centres and vaginal estrogen available over the counter from pharmacists.
“Across the world, reproductive rights are under attack,” said Lowan. “It is more important than ever that government does everything in its power to protect the right for everyone to make their own reproductive choices.”
Where the other parties stand
The Greens are not the only party courting students and housing-stressed voters, but neither rival’s published plan matches the tuition freeze. The BC Conservatives’ plan, published as Get BC Moving on conservativebc.ca, promises to expand dual-credit programs, apprenticeships and paid work experience, and carries no tuition freeze. The BC NDP’s plan page at bcndp.ca/plan likewise sets out no tuition freeze and no leaseholder commitment, though it was an NDP MLA who ran the Province’s 2024 leaseholder consultation. Voters can compare all five parties’ platforms in Apna News’ Elections 2026 coverage ahead of Saturday’s vote.
One timing note for readers: a provincial campaign advertising blackout applies on October 23 and 24, so party advertising stops before election day even as platform announcements like these continue to circulate.
Sources: BC Green Party, “Tuition freeze, funding overhaul announced for post-secondary by BC Greens,” October 21, 2026, bcgreens.ca; BC Green Party, “After years of BC NDP inaction, BC Greens promise leaseholders the protection they deserve,” October 21, 2026, bcgreens.ca; BC Green Party, “BC Greens launch reproductive healthcare plan,” October 21, 2026, bcgreens.ca; Conservative Party of BC, “Get BC Moving,” October 16, 2026, conservativebc.ca; BC NDP, “We have a plan to Build BC strong,” accessed October 22, 2026, bcndp.ca/plan.
