The Evolution of Right-Wing Immigration Stances in BC: Analyzing the Party Platforms of the BC Liberals, BC United, and BC Conservatives From 1991–2024

Abstract

Increasing polarization and politicization of immigration and integration policies have challenged the narrative of ‘Canadian exceptionalism’ and mirrored the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment evident in other Western countries (Abu-Laban 2022; Gagnon & Larios 2021; Xhardez and Paquet 2021). Provinces have also had increasing influence on immigration policy through the Provincial Nominee Program, making immigration increasingly salient in provincial politics (Baglay and Nakache 2014; Gagnon and Larios 2021; Paquet 2014; Xhardez and Paquet 2014). This project seeks to contextualize the fraying consensus in British Columbia by analyzing the immigration policies of ten party platforms from the BC Liberals, BC United, and BC Conservatives from 1991–2024. I code each platform to identify variations in tone, underlying ideology, policy focus, immigrant type, and role of governments. This paper addresses two gaps in the literature: the lack of focus on immigration politics in BC and the absence of analysis on right-wing provincial parties. As such, this provides a much-needed study of immigration in provincial party platforms, allowing us to better understand regional nuance and underlying narratives present in the new chapter of Canadian immigration politics and BC right-wing politics.