At the end of every year, it’s become a BC NDP tradition to look back on the last 365 days and report on how our movement has grown, and how our government has delivered for people.

Some years, it’s all bright lights. Others, like 2024, have been bright, and dark, and everything in between.

Throughout 2024, our movement for people helped our government keep delivering: building new homes, opening new hospitals and welcoming thousands of new doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals.

We got election-ready — nominating incredible candidates, and inspiring more donations than any other time in our party’s history. Then, this fall we came together with hope and resolve, electing BC’s first three-term NDP government — and helping make BC’s legislature majority-women for the first time, ever.

More recently, we came together in grief.

We lost our former leader and Premier, John Horgan, who delivered great things for our province — on housing, childcare, workers' rights, reconciliation, climate action and so much more — in his five years as Premier.

We said goodbye to beloved friends, like MLA and former cabinet minister Dan Coulter, who always championed the underdog and fought so hard for everyday people.

And we stood by other friends in the face of personal tragedy, like Victoria-Beacon Hill MLA and cabinet minister Grace Lore, who recently announced her battle with cancer.

We feel these losses keenly, but we know John and Dan wouldn’t want us to see this year through tears.

So, as we look back on this year, in all its contradictions and complexities, here are four positive things our BC NDP movement did together this year.

We’re hiring and training more doctors and nurses

BC should be a place where public healthcare is strong, where hospitals are close to home, and where there are enough nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers to take care of you if you need it.

Too many people are struggling to find a family doctor. So we’re taking action to hire more doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers than ever before. We’re hiring new family doctors, and licensing even more internationally-trained doctors, so that they can deliver the care British Columbians need.

We are working to make sure that everyone who has asked for a family doctor or nurse practitioner, gets one.

We’re building many more of the homes we need

This province is a wonderful place to live. There’s no way around it: in BC, housing is too expensive. In 2023, we launched our Housing Action plan — a plan to stand up to speculators and cut red tape to get homes for people built.

And it’s working.

According to the CMHC, we’re building a record number of rental homes in this province, with construction starting on nearly 19,000 rental homes in the past 12 months.

New affordable apartments are opening all the time — like 3338 Sawmill Cres. in Vancouver, which will provide a total of 337 homes to families, seniors and individuals.

And we’re starting to see the results. Rent in Vancouver, in condos and rental buildings, is down 9% from this time last year, with rents also down in Burnaby and Kelowna.

To be clear: housing is still too expensive. But what we’re doing is working. We can’t stop pushing.

We’re opening new hospitals

In BC, healthcare should be there when you need it. And there should be a hospital close to home that can give you the care you deserve.

That's why we're taking action, building and upgrading hospitals across the province — like the new hospital in Terrace.

The Kseyen Regional Hospital in Terrace opened on November 24, 2024 — ahead of schedule. With 82 beds, private rooms, a bigger emergency department and four operating rooms, it’s twice the size of the previous facility, and will give people in the region access to healthcare in a modern, cutting-edge facility.

And we’re doing the same thing across the province, with 29 new or expanded hospitals, as well as cancer centres and long-term care homes.

Healthcare, when you need it, close to home. We know there's more work to do. And we’re going to keep building.

We’re suing opioid manufacturers

In 2018, we began a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the whole of Canada, to hold opioid manufacturers and distributors accountable for allegedly using deceptive marketing tactics to increase sales of opioid drugs, leading to increased rates of addiction and overdose.

It’s been a long fight. But this year, we had a big victory at the Supreme Court. We will now proceed on behalf of all of Canada to recover the costs of treating opioid-related disease, allegedly caused by the industry’s wrongful conduct.

We’re fighting for justice, and holding these pharmaceutical companies accountable — for people in BC, and across Canada.

In 2025, our shared work continues

There is much more work to do to build this province into the place that British Columbians deserve: where you can get a good job and a home and enjoy clean air and have health care when you need it, all in the community you love.

We’re going to keep pushing forward. And we won’t stop until the job is done.