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BC Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson pledges $500M for water bombers and AI wildfire technology, while NDP's David Eby promises grocery price caps on staples like eggs, butter, and milk.
KELOWNA — British Columbia’s major party leaders campaigned in the Okanagan on Friday, focusing on wildfire safety and grocery affordability ahead of the Oct. 24 election. Interim Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson promised a half-billion-dollar fleet of Crown-owned water bombers and advanced technology, while NDP Leader David Eby announced price caps on certain grocery items.
Conservative Pledge on Water Bombers
Doerkson said the proposed purchase and an innovation fund are part of a broader plan to improve wildfire response through on-the-ground prevention and reduced bureaucracy. He made the announcement in front of a rural property that burned last month during the Bald Range wildfire, which destroyed more than 80 homes in Faulder, B.C., and forced thousands to flee from nearby Summerland.
We are here today because British Columbians deserve a government that will act before the smoke appears on the horizon, Doerkson said. We owe it to our kids. We owe to our forestry workers and we owe it to communities like Summerland, like Lytton, like Clinton to take back control of our forests.
Doerkson spoke next to property owner Joel Patan and local Conservative candidate Tracy St. Claire. He argued that a provincial water-bombing fleet will ultimately save money, given the escalating costs of fighting fires.
We will protect our communities, we will safeguard our health care and education budgets by avoiding billions in emergency suppression costs and economic loss, he said. Most importantly, we will do everything we can to ensure families like Joel’s never again have to flee their homes in the dark with two hour’s notice.
When asked about the costs of buying the planes, Doerkson said the province could help pay for them by renting them out to other jurisdictions when they aren’t needed.
NDP Promise on Grocery Price Caps
Eby stood outside a Kelowna grocery store on Friday to announce additional plans to improve affordability by putting price caps on certain grocery items, such as eggs, butter and milk. He said that his party, if re-elected, would cap unfair increases on staples through price guards on corporate retailers, setting hard ceilings on retail margins for every-day essentials.
We have seen prices on the basics climb beyond inflation, he said. So, what we are going to do is put the same protections in place we have for farmers, he said, referring to marketing boards that regulate their products.
The NDP’s promise of a cap would be linked to six staples: milk, eggs, butter, cheese, chicken, and turkey, the party said in a statement. These products are already regulated through marketing boards and the proposed measures would extend that protection to consumers, Eby said.
Just as farmers get their costs, government will put in measures that will cap the profit margins that large grocery chains can make off staples, Eby said. He said his government would also introduce measures to prohibit predatory pricing and support smaller, independent grocery retailers.
Context of the Campaign Promises
The announcements come as both parties seek to address key voter concerns in the Okanagan and across the province. Wildfires have increasingly threatened communities, with the Bald Range fire being a recent example. Meanwhile, rising grocery prices have strained household budgets, making affordability a central election issue.
Doerkson’s promise of water bombers and AI technology aims to bolster wildfire response, while Eby’s price caps seek to ease the financial burden on families. Both leaders presented their plans as necessary measures to protect British Columbians.
This report by Wolfgang Depner of The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2026.
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