Gavin Dew anchored his address in the memory of an old filing cabinet.
His first summer job was photocopying at Knight Piésold Consulting Engineers, located nearby. The boxes he worked with contained early studies for Mount Milligan and Red Chris, two mines that each took decades to reach production. Red Chris, three decades later, is still advancing its next phase.
Dew used that timeline to frame his speech at Resource Works’ Get It Done BC forum in Vancouver on September 14, 2026. Speaking as Kelowna-Mission MLA and B.C. Conservative finance critic, he focused on execution over ideology, arguing that the central challenge is not whether to build, but how long it takes.
Straightforward arithmetic: B.C.’s fiscal reality
Analyzing the file through a budget lens, Dew highlighted B.C.’s underlying economic drivers. Mining, oil, and gas produce over three times the economic output per hour of the provincial average and generate roughly three-quarters of goods exports. While Budget 2026 relies on more than $3 billion in resource revenue, the province remains about 223,000 private-sector jobs short of its pre-pandemic trend.
At the same time, B.C. is about 223,000 private-sector jobs short of its pre-pandemic trend. Budget 2026 forecast a $13.3-billion deficit, even before a $1.5-billion natural gas royalty miscalculation.
“Because apparently, even the deficit is over budget,” Dew said.
Laying out the choices—taxing more, borrowing more, spending less, or growing the economy—Dew ruled out higher taxes and debt. While stressing fiscal discipline, he argued that spending cuts alone cannot close the gap.
“We have to build our way to prosperity,” he said, pointing to mines, mills, LNG, transmission lines, housing, ports, pipelines, and data centres.
Underscoring his message, a fiscal update released the following day revised the deficit upward to $13.8 billion—$450 million worse than originally projected.
Restoring certainty for capital and investors
At the heart of Dew’s address was market predictability. Because capital has choices, investors require stable rules, costs, and timelines, alongside assurance that government positions will not shift overnight. While markets can price a strict regulation, they struggle to price regulatory drift.
“British Columbia has often become the land of the slow maybe,” he said. “Not no, just maybe, slowly.” For investors, he argued, that lands about as hard as a refusal.
He pointed to several recent mixed signals. On Tilbury LNG, the province approved the project, while a cabinet minister publicly spoke out against it. On oil pipelines, the premier opposes new capacity while promising not to challenge it in court. Dew also flagged the provincial sales tax applied to professional services like accounting, engineering, and geoscience—the exact work required to discover and develop future mines.
“Government cannot be pro-project and anti-project at the same time,” he said.
Drawing on his three years working on the Trans Mountain expansion, Dew contrasted the original line—built in 18 months for $93 million using 1950s technology—with the expansion, which spanned over a decade and cost $34 billion. Prolonged timelines, he warned, deter future proposals altogether.
To resolve these bottlenecks, Dew advocated for a streamlined framework: one project, one process, clear requirements, firm timelines, and firm decision-making accountability. He also reiterated his party’s intent to replace DRIPA with a model that respects constitutional rights and consultation while renewing clarity for project proponents.
Powering the future: Molecules, electrons and AI
Turning to energy strategy, Dew emphasized that industrial growth, electrification, and digital infrastructure all draw from the same electrical grid.
“We cannot build an economy around electrification and then ration electricity like wartime butter,” Dew said.
His proposal calls for expanding generation and transmission infrastructure ahead of demand by tapping hydro, natural gas, geothermal, renewables, and nuclear power. He framed data centres as “digital refineries”—a concept championed by Alberta Technology Minister Nate Glubish.
The contrast is clear: Alberta has nearly 20,000 megawatts of data centre demand seeking connections. B.C. has allocated 300 megawatts of new AI capacity over the next two years.
Instead of exporting natural gas at a steep discount to Henry Hub, Dew argued, B.C. should use more of it at home.
“Molecules become electrons, electrons become compute, compute becomes intelligence,” he said.
He cited energy economist Peter Tertzakian’s estimate that $2 of natural gas can support more than $2,000 of AI computing output. It’s a familiar resource argument, but pointed in a new direction. The value can be captured here, not just exported.
Give communities a stake
The last idea was the smallest and maybe the most practical. Communities that welcome growth usually carry the costs upfront. Roads, housing pressure and service demands arrive before the revenue does. Much of the fiscal upside then flows to Victoria.
Dew pointed to UBCM’s 2013 Strong Fiscal Futures report, which raised performance-based revenue sharing. He wants to explore what he calls a municipal growth dividend. When a community helps grow B.C.’s economy, it would share directly in the result.
“Give communities a stake in getting it done,” he said.
With municipal leaders in the room and a local election coming in October, the pitch landed with its intended audience.
Building a lasting legacy
Dew concluded by returning to his early days photocopying mine studies. The projects evaluated on engineers’ desks today will define economic opportunities for the next generation, long outlasting any political administration.
Governments come and go. Those decisions don’t.
“We have the resources, we have the people, we have the markets. Now we just have to get it done.”
Ian Biana writes for the Resource Works Accelerate team and can be reached at [email protected].
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