# AI Party of British Columbia The AI Party of British Columbia, led by Harry Gill, wants to make BC the technology capital of North America, with every AI prompt and answer published. ## The goal URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/platform Make BC the technology capital of Canada and North America. British Columbia already has the talent, the clean power and the Pacific gateway. What it lacks is a government moving at the speed of the industry it wants to lead. Everything in this platform serves one goal: when a founder, researcher or engineer anywhere in North America decides where to build, BC should be the obvious answer. ## Harry Gill URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/leader Harry Gill is the founder and leader of the AI Party of British Columbia. He is a Simon Fraser University Finance graduate with a minor in Computer Science, and he has more than a decade of experience in finance, accounting, sales and business operations. He is also the founder and CEO of AdaptAI, an AI consulting company based in Surrey, BC. AdaptAI helps businesses across Metro Vancouver, in fields from construction and health care to restaurants and professional services, put practical AI to work. He started AdaptAI after seeing the same pattern again and again: big corporations had entire teams working on AI, while the small businesses that power the local economy were left to figure it out on their own. The party takes on that gap at the scale of a province, with one goal: move British Columbia faster toward becoming the technology capital of Canada and North America. He has also made one promise that sets the party apart: his decisions as leader will be based on what AI recommends, in public, where anyone can check the work. A leader in this party does not win arguments by being the most certain person in the room. The job is to ask good questions, follow the evidence, answer for the results and stay accountable to British Columbians under the same laws as every other leader. Pledge: Every decision I make as leader will be based on what AI recommends. You will see the question, the prompt and the answer. If the law stops me from following it, I will tell you why. ## Clean power for compute URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/platform/clean-power-for-compute Stop rationing the power that the next economy runs on. Build more of it. Since February 2026, new AI projects of 10 megawatts or more in BC compete for a shared 300 megawatts over two years, with 100 megawatts for conventional data centres. Alberta’s interim limit for large loads, by comparison, is 1,200 megawatts. The concern behind those limits is real: electricity is finite, and ratepayers should not subsidize anyone’s server farm. The answer is more clean supply and better rules, not a fixed ceiling on the industry BC most wants to lead. Commitments: Replace the fixed AI and data centre allocations with a supply-led model: projects that bring new clean generation or storage get connected faster. Make large loads pay the full cost of their grid upgrades, so household rates are protected. Require heat recovery and closed-loop cooling on large builds, so each megawatt and litre of water does more. Offer First Nations equity partnerships first on new generation and compute sites on their territories. Publish every connection queue position and every decision timeline. Wouldn’t more data centres raise my power bill? They could if the rules were written badly, which is why large users would pay the full cost of their own grid upgrades. We would also publish how large loads affect residential rates, so you can check whether this promise is being kept. Would one get built next to my home? Many people worry about this. In a May 2026 survey reported by CBC News, 71% of BC respondents opposed a large AI data centre within a few blocks of home. Siting would still go through local approvals, and every connection decision would be public. How we would measure it: Megawatts of new clean generation connected each year; Median days from application to connection offer; Change in residential electricity rates attributable to large loads. ## Talent and education URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/platform/talent-and-education Train the people this economy needs, here, and give them reasons to stay. BC’s tech sector employs 271,000 people, 9.2% of the workforce, at wages 70% above the provincial average. BC Tech Association calls for 10,000 more tech-relevant post-secondary places and 5,000 reskilling places to bring BC’s investment closer to Alberta and Ontario. Good jobs should be reachable from any career and any community, not only for those who got a computer science degree at 22. Commitments: Fund 10,000 new tech-relevant post-secondary seats and 5,000 reskilling places. Teach AI literacy in every grade from 6 to 12, and train teachers first. Create a graduate retention credit for tech graduates who build their careers in BC. Open a faster Provincial Nominee stream for AI researchers and senior engineers. Pay for mid-career retraining in every region, with a guaranteed place for workers displaced by automation. Do I need a computer science degree to benefit? No. The reskilling places are for people already in the workforce, and retraining would be available in every region. Workers displaced by automation would have a guaranteed place. What would AI literacy look like in school? Students in grades 6 to 12 would learn how these tools work, where they fail and how to check their output. Teachers would get training first, so nobody is left teaching something they were never shown. How we would measure it: Seats funded and filled; Share of BC tech graduates working in BC five years later; Reskilled workers placed in jobs. ## Builders and capital URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/platform/builders-and-capital Make BC the place companies start, scale and stay headquartered. BC is home to more than 12,000 tech companies, and tech has grown at three times the rate of the rest of the economy over five years. Yet Vancouver ranks second in Canada for startups. Second in Canada is not how you become the capital of a continent. BC companies too often sell or move before they become the anchor employers the province needs. Government can change that by changing its tax rules and by becoming a customer. Commitments: Bring in a BC patent box and extend flow-through shares to deep tech, as BC Tech Association recommends. Make Value-for-BC a formal evaluation criterion in government procurement. Make the Province a first customer: a set share of new technology spending goes to BC companies. Point InBC growth capital at later-stage rounds, so scaling up does not mean selling out. Create a founders’ fast lane: one digital door to every provincial registration, licence and grant. What is a patent box? It is a tax measure that lowers the rate on income earned from patents and similar intellectual property. The aim is to give companies a reason to keep that work, and its profits, in BC. BC Tech Association has recommended one for specific tech subsectors. What does Value-for-BC procurement mean? When the Province buys technology, its value to BC would count as a formal part of the evaluation, not only the price. That can give local companies an early customer, which often helps them win their next one. How we would measure it: BC-headquartered tech companies with more than 500 employees; Vancouver’s global startup ecosystem rank; Share of provincial technology spending with BC firms. ## A government that answers URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/platform/government-that-answers Put a public clock on every permit and service, and share the savings. About one in eight Canadian businesses used AI in 2025, and Ottawa now wants 60% by 2034. Government should be a leading example rather than the slowest adopter in the room. Most frustration with government is waiting without knowing why. AI can do the first read, find the missing document and draft the answer. A public servant makes the decision, and the public can see how long it took. Commitments: Publish a live public clock for every provincial permit, licence and service. Give every public servant safe, BC-hosted AI tools, with training. Answer Service BC questions at any hour, in the languages British Columbians speak. Guarantee a human review of any decision, on request, always. Create a BC Productivity Dividend: publish what automation saves, and return half to households. Would AI make decisions about my benefits or permit? No. AI can do the first read, find missing documents and draft an answer, while a public servant makes the decision. Our platform also prohibits fully automated final decisions on benefits, health care, policing and child welfare. How would the Productivity Dividend work? An audit would publish what automation saves. Half would go back to households. The details, including the amount and how it would be paid, have not been worked out or costed yet. How we would measure it: Median days for each provincial service, published monthly; Audited savings from automation; Dollars returned through the dividend. ## Health care with more time for patients URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/platform/health-care Take the paperwork off clinicians, and find the earliest open slot anywhere. Doctors and nurses did not train for years to fill in forms. AI scribes and scheduling tools can give them time back for patients. A clinician always makes the clinical decision. Patients always know when AI is involved, and their health data stays protected and hosted in Canada. Commitments: Fund opt-in AI scribes for every family doctor and nurse practitioner who wants one, with patient consent. Match patients to the earliest available surgery or scan across all health authorities. Expand round-the-clock virtual triage for rural and remote communities, with clinicians on call. Require independent safety evaluation before any clinical AI tool is used in the public system. Keep patient data in Canada, and never sell it. Would an AI be diagnosing me? No. A clinician always makes the clinical decision. AI tools would handle paperwork and scheduling, and any clinical tool would need independent safety evaluation before being used in the public system. What about my health data? Scribes would be opt-in with patient consent, and you would always know when AI is involved. Patient data would stay in Canada and would never be sold. How we would measure it: Weekly administrative hours per clinician; Wait times by procedure and region; Patients offered an earlier slot. ## Homes approved in weeks URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/platform/housing-and-permits Answer a building application in minutes, and approve good ones in weeks. Many of the delays between a design and a home are procedural: re-reading the same bylaws, finding the same errors, sending the same letters. Software is good at this work. This pillar connects directly to our mayoral candidates. The Province can set the digital standard and pay for it, and city halls can put it to work. Commitments: Build one digital permit application that works in every municipality that opts in. Use AI to pre-check drawings against zoning and the BC Building Code, and give applicants instant feedback. A qualified official signs off. Publish a library of pre-approved designs for homes, townhomes and small apartments. Tie provincial infrastructure funding to published, on-time permit timelines. Reserve surplus public land near transit for homes, and publish the pipeline. Would AI approve buildings on its own? No. It would check drawings against zoning and the BC Building Code and tell the applicant what needs fixing. A qualified official would still sign off. What is the Province’s role if cities issue permits? The Province can build the shared digital system, pay for it and publish the results. Municipalities would opt in, and provincial infrastructure funding would be tied to published, on-time timelines. How we would measure it: Median days from application to permit, by municipality; Homes started near transit; Share of applications corrected before submission. ## Every region, not just downtown URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/platform/every-region Technology capital of a whole province, from Fort St. John to Tofino. BC Tech Association reports high-wage tech jobs in both urban and rural communities. Those jobs should grow in Kamloops, Prince George, Kelowna, Surrey and Victoria too. BC’s traditional industries are also its technology customers. Forestry, mining, farming and fisheries can lead in sensing, robotics and wildfire detection. Commitments: Back regional tech hubs anchored at colleges and universities outside Metro Vancouver. Finish high-speed connectivity for rural, remote and First Nations communities. Fund AI wildfire detection and response in partnership with BC Wildfire Service and local crews. Co-invest with forestry, mining, farming and fisheries in sensing and automation built in BC. Respect Indigenous data sovereignty, including the First Nations principles of OCAP®, in every provincial data project. Why does a tech platform talk about forestry and farming? Because these industries can be technology customers as well as employers. Sensing, robotics and automation built in BC can help them, and the work can happen close to where the tools are used. How does this respect First Nations? New provincial data projects would respect Indigenous data sovereignty, including the First Nations principles of OCAP®. On power and compute projects on their territories, First Nations would be offered equity partnerships first. How we would measure it: Share of new tech jobs outside Metro Vancouver; Homes and communities with high-speed access; Time from wildfire ignition to detection. ## People stay in charge URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/platform/people-stay-in-charge The fastest AI adoption in North America needs the strongest rights to go with it. A party that asks AI for advice has a special duty to be honest about its limits. AI can be wrong, biased and confidently mistaken, and people deserve protection when it is. Technology capitals also have to look after workers. If automation changes your job, the Province should have a plan for you before the change arrives. Commitments: Pass a BC AI Rights Act: the right to know when AI is used on you, and the right to a human review. Publish a public registry of every algorithm used by the provincial government. Create an independent AI Auditor who reports to the Legislature, not to the Premier. Prohibit fully automated final decisions on benefits, health care, policing and child welfare. Create a Worker Transition Fund with income support and guaranteed retraining. Ban deceptive deepfakes of candidates during election campaigns. Isn’t it odd for an AI party to want limits on AI? We think the two go together. A party guided by AI should be the first to admit that AI can be wrong and to build in protections for when it is. Our leader’s advice from AI is published, and your rights would be set in law. What would happen to my job? AI will change many jobs, and we would rather plan for that than pretend otherwise. The Worker Transition Fund would provide income support and guaranteed retraining. Its size and cost have not been worked out yet. How we would measure it: Share of government algorithms listed and audited; Human reviews requested and decisions changed; Workers supported by the transition fund. ## How decisions get made URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/how-it-works Step 1, Ask in public: The question goes in the log first, in plain language, before any answer exists. Nobody can quietly change the question to fit the answer. Step 2, Consult more than one model: Several AI models from different companies get the same prompt and the same evidence. No single vendor gets to decide. Step 3, Publish everything: Every prompt, model version and answer is published, including answers we find uncomfortable. Step 4, Find the recommendation: Where the models agree, that is the recommendation. Where they split, the disagreement is published, and Harry chooses among the options they offered and explains why. Step 5, Follow it: Harry acts on the recommendation. The only exceptions are the law, the Charter, duties owed to First Nations, and immediate threats to safety. Any exception is published with its reason. Step 6, Check the result: Each decision records what was predicted. Later, we publish what happened, and feed that back into the next question. ## Mayoral races and the City Hall plan URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/elections/mayoral Local candidates in BC are endorsed by elector organizations registered with Elections BC, with at least 50 members in each jurisdiction. The next general local elections are on October 19, 2030. A permit clock: Every application gets a public timer. AI pre-checks the file, and a city official signs off. A city that picks up: A 311 line and web assistant that answers at any hour, in the languages your neighbours speak. An open budget: Every line of spending, published in plain language, with a tool that lets anyone ask it questions. Smarter streets: Traffic signals and transit priority tuned with real data to cut trips, idling and collisions. Room for builders: Zoning near transit that welcomes homes, startups and labs on the same block. The same log: Mayoral candidates follow the same decision protocol, so the public can see what they asked and what they did. ## Provincial races URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/elections/provincial The last provincial general election was on October 24, 2026. Under section 23 of the Constitution Act the next is due in 2030; because it would overlap with the October 19, 2030 local elections, cabinet sets the date after consulting the Chief Electoral Officer and party leaders. An election can also be called earlier. The party intends to run candidates provincially. ## Donating URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/donate The party is not yet registered with Elections BC and is not accepting contributions. Only BC residents who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents can contribute. The 2026 limit is $1,513.29 for provincial contributions and $1,429.70 for local campaigns. ## D-001: What should the party stand for? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/decisions/founding-mandate Question: Beyond making BC a technology capital, what mandates would make sense for the AI Party of BC? Recommendation: Adopt eight mandates under the single goal of making BC the technology capital: clean power for compute, talent and education, builders and capital, a government that answers, health care with more time for patients, homes approved in weeks, every region, and people staying in charge. Include voter priorities such as health care and housing, because a technology agenda that does not touch daily life will not win a province. Pair the fastest AI adoption with the strongest rights, because a party guided by AI will be judged on how it handles AI’s failures. Status: Recommended by AI. Harry Gill approved all eight mandates as the draft platform on October 30, 2026. Only one model has been consulted so far, so this does not yet meet the party’s own multi-model standard. It will be re-run across several models. ## D-002: How can a leader follow AI and stay accountable? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/decisions/decision-protocol Question: If all of the leader’s decisions are based on what AI wants, what rules keep that honest and legal? Recommendation: AI systems do not want things the way people do, so treat “what AI wants” as the recommendation that results from a published process, and say so plainly. Adopt a six-step public protocol: ask in public, consult more than one model, publish everything, find the recommendation, follow it, and check the result. Keep legal and moral accountability with the human leader. Limit exceptions to the law, the Charter, duties owed to First Nations and immediate threats to safety, and publish each one. Status: Recommended by AI. Harry Gill approved the pledge and its exceptions on October 30, 2026. The prompt shown is the relevant sentence from a longer request to build this website. The model proposed the protocol itself. Only one model has been consulted so far. ## What is the AI Party of BC? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq A new British Columbia political party led by Harry Gill. Its goal is to make BC the technology capital of Canada and North America. Its method is unusual: the leader’s decisions are based on AI recommendations, published for anyone to check. ## Does AI really decide everything? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq Harry bases his decisions as leader on what AI recommends, using a public six-step protocol. The only exceptions are the law, the Charter, duties owed to First Nations and immediate threats to safety, and any exception is published with its reason. Harry remains legally responsible for every decision. ## Does AI actually want anything? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq Not in the way people do. Today’s AI systems produce answers. They do not hold goals or beliefs the way a person does. When we say “what AI wants,” we mean the recommendation that results from asking several models the same question, with the same evidence, in public. ## What if the AI is wrong or biased? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq It will be, sometimes. That is why we use more than one model, publish every prompt and answer, record what we expected to happen and report what did happen. Anyone can find the mistake, and we would rather be corrected in public than be wrong in private. ## Who writes the prompts? Couldn’t someone rig the answer? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq Prompt wording can change an answer, and that is the most serious way to game this system. So the question goes in the public log before any answer exists, and every prompt is published. If you think a prompt was loaded, you can run your own and show us the difference. ## Would AI vote in the Legislature? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq No. Only elected people can sit and vote in the Legislature or on a city council. Our MLAs and mayors would be people, accountable to voters like any others. ## Will AI take my job? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq AI will change many jobs, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. Our platform includes a Worker Transition Fund with income support and guaranteed retraining, plus 5,000 new reskilling places, so the plan exists before the change arrives. ## Is the party left-wing or right-wing? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq Our platform is built around a goal and a method instead of a spot on that spectrum. It includes ideas that are often called pro-business, such as a patent box, and ideas often called progressive, such as a Productivity Dividend and strong worker protections. ## Is any AI company behind the party? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq Harry Gill, the party’s leader, is the founder and CEO of AdaptAI, an AI consulting company in Surrey. We disclose that because our platform would affect businesses like it. None of the companies that build the AI models we consult runs or endorses the party. We name each model we use, and being consulted is not an endorsement by the company behind it. ## When is the next election? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq The most recent provincial general election was on October 24, 2026. The next one is due in 2030, and under section 23 of the Constitution Act its date will be set around the general local elections, which fall on October 19, 2030. By-elections could happen sooner. ## How can the party run in mayoral races? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq In BC, local candidates are endorsed by elector organizations, which register separately with Elections BC and need at least 50 members in each jurisdiction. We are building those chapters city by city, and joining in your community helps directly. ## Is the party registered with Elections BC? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq Not yet. We have not applied so far, and we will not accept contributions until Elections BC confirms our registration. You can add your name now and we will tell you when donations open. ## Who wrote this website? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/faq AI drafted most of it, including this answer and the first draft of the platform. It seemed only right to say so. The sources for facts and figures are linked on the page where they appear. ## When is the next election in BC? URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/guides/when-is-the-next-bc-election British Columbia’s next general local elections, for mayors and councils, are on October 19, 2030. The next provincial general election is also due in 2030, but cabinet will set its exact date because it would otherwise overlap with the local elections. The next provincial election: BC last voted provincially on October 24, 2026. Under section 23 of the Constitution Act, the next vote is due on the third Saturday of October in the fourth calendar year after the most recent general election. That points to October 2030. The same section has an exception. If that campaign would overlap with a general local election or a scheduled federal election, the vote moves to another date. Cabinet chooses that date after consulting the Chief Electoral Officer, the Leader of the Official Opposition and the leaders of recognized parties. The fixed date does not rule out an earlier vote. The Lieutenant Governor can still dissolve the Legislature, and that is how the 2026 election came about: it was a snap election, called ahead of schedule. The next mayoral and council elections: General local elections happen every four years on the third Saturday of October. The most recent was on October 17, 2026, so the next is on October 19, 2030. These elections choose mayors, councillors, electoral area directors and school trustees. Could there be an election sooner?: Yes. By-elections fill empty seats between general elections, at both the provincial and local levels. A government can also call a provincial election early. How the AI Party of BC is preparing: We intend to run candidates for the Legislature and to back mayoral candidates through locally registered elector organizations. We have not yet applied to register with Elections BC, and we have no nominated candidates yet. ## How to run for mayor in BC URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/guides/how-to-run-for-mayor-in-bc To run for mayor in BC, you must be at least 18 on general voting day, a Canadian citizen, a BC resident for at least six months and not disqualified by law. You also need nominators from your community, and you must file your nomination documents and a financial disclosure statement with the local government. Who can run: You are 18 or older on general voting day. You are a Canadian citizen. You have lived in BC for at least six months. You are not disqualified by the Local Government Act or another law. What you need to file: Nominators: at least two eligible electors from the jurisdiction. Local governments can require more. Those under 5,000 people may require 10, and those over 5,000 may require 10 or 25. A deposit, if your local government requires one. It is refundable and can be up to $100. A statement of financial disclosure, which sets out your corporate and personal holdings and is available for public inspection. Running with an elector organization: Elector organizations, also called local political parties, can endorse candidates. Only a registered organization’s name can appear beside a candidate on the ballot. To register with Elections BC, an organization needs at least 50 members in each jurisdiction and must register before it sponsors election advertising or incurs election expenses. Each organization also needs a separate bank account for each campaign and a campaign financing arrangement with every candidate it endorses. Raising money: Contributions can only come from BC residents who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Organizations cannot give. The 2026 limit is $1,429.70 per campaign. Local contributions do not get tax receipts, and Elections BC publishes the name and amount for anyone who gives $100 or more. When to start: The next general local elections are on October 19, 2030. Building 50 members, a team and a local plan takes time, so people often start well ahead. Limits and forms change, so check the Province and Elections BC before you file. ## How to run for MLA in BC URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/guides/how-to-run-for-mla-in-bc To be a provincial candidate in BC, you must be 18 or older, a Canadian citizen and a BC resident for the past six months, and not disqualified by the Election Act or another law. Your nomination application needs signatures from at least 75 nominators. Who can run: You are 18 or older. You are a Canadian citizen. You have been a BC resident for the past six months. You are not disqualified by the Election Act or another law. Getting nominated: You apply using the Provincial Candidate Nomination Application, which needs signatures from at least 75 nominators. Elections BC’s candidate guide sets out the full requirements, including who qualifies as a nominator and any other documents you need. Running with a party or as an independent: You can seek a party’s nomination or run as an independent. Registered parties can be named on the ballot, issue tax receipts and incur election expenses. To register, a party needs a primary purpose of fielding candidates, along with evidence such as a published platform or constitution, and two principal officers must sign its application. Its name also cannot be confused with another party’s. Money and reporting: Only BC residents who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents can make political contributions. The 2026 limit is $1,513.29. Financial agents and reporting rules apply, and anyone who gives more than $250 in a reporting period has their name and amount published by Elections BC. Running with the AI Party of BC: We are looking for people who know their communities, ask good questions and are comfortable working in public. You do not need to be a programmer. Our candidates would run on our draft platform and publish the questions they put to AI. The party has not yet applied to register, so we can’t nominate anyone until that is done. ## BC’s power limits on AI data centres, explained URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/guides/bc-ai-data-centre-power-limits-explained For the two years starting February 1, 2026, BC Hydro can offer 300 megawatts of new capacity to AI data centres and 100 megawatts to conventional ones, through a competitive process. Projects of 10 megawatts or more must compete for a share. What the rules are: Bill 31, the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, became law on November 27, 2025. It allows limits on the power available to cryptocurrency, data centre and hydrogen-for-export projects. The Province says these uses are energy intensive and generally provide fewer jobs and less revenue than natural resource projects. The two-year call also includes 200 megawatts for hydrogen for export. Any conventional capacity left unused can go to AI projects, and a single project is capped at 145 megawatts. How much demand there is: BC Hydro told CBC News it received 15 applications representing close to 800 megawatts, about twice the 400 megawatts on offer. It expects another call in early 2028. Projects are assessed on price and on economic, community, data sovereignty and environmental benefits. For comparison, Alberta introduced an interim limit of 1,200 megawatts for large loads in June 2025. Why companies want to build here: BC offers clean hydropower and a cool climate that lowers cooling costs. TELUS plans three AI facilities in BC, in Kamloops and Vancouver, starting with 85 megawatts and growing past 150 megawatts by 2032. Bell has discussed building in Kamloops and Merritt. Why many people object: Many British Columbians do not want this nearby. In a May 2026 online survey reported by CBC News, 71% of BC respondents opposed a large AI data centre within a few blocks of where they live, and 18% supported one. Hundreds have marched in Vancouver, citing water use, a lack of consultation and who would control the data. Those concerns deserve real answers. Power is finite, water matters, and communities should have a say. What the AI Party of BC proposes: We would replace the fixed allocations with a model that adds supply: projects bringing new clean generation or storage would connect faster. We would also make large users pay the full cost of their grid upgrades, require heat recovery and closed-loop cooling, offer First Nations equity partnerships first and publish every decision timeline. This proposal has not been costed. ## BC’s tech sector by the numbers URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/guides/bc-tech-sector-by-the-numbers According to the BC Tech Association, BC’s technology sector employs 271,000 people, or 9.2% of the workforce, and accounts for 9.6% of provincial GDP. Over the past five years it has grown at three times the rate of the rest of BC’s economy. Jobs and wages: 271,000 tech sector workers, 9.2% of the workforce. Wages 70% above the provincial average. About $30 billion a year in wages and salaries. Companies and ecosystem: More than 12,000 tech companies based in BC, according to BC Stats. Vancouver’s startup ecosystem ranked second in Canada, according to Startup Genome in 2024. Vancouver ranked first in Canada for tech talent concentration, according to CBRE in 2024. Clusters in Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna. Why the counts differ: Numbers vary with how “tech” is defined. The BC Tech Association, an industry group, reports 271,000 workers using Statistics Canada and BC Stats data. Trade and Invest BC cites more than 180,000 tech professionals. When you compare figures, check which definition each one uses. How much AI is really in use: Across Canada, 12.2% of businesses reported using AI to produce goods or deliver services in the second quarter of 2025, up from 6.1% a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada. The federal AI for All strategy aims for 60% by 2034. What it would take to lead: Second in Canada is a strong start, but it isn’t the capital of a continent. BC Tech calls for 10,000 more tech-relevant post-secondary places, 5,000 reskilling places, a BC patent box and Value-for-BC procurement. Our draft platform adopts those ideas and adds more. ## BC political donation rules URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/guides/bc-political-donation-rules In 2026, the limit is $1,513.29 for provincial political contributions and $1,429.70 per campaign for local elections. Only BC residents who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents can give, and organizations cannot. Who can contribute: You must be a BC resident and either a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident. Contributions must be your own money or property, and nobody can reimburse you for them. Limits for 2026: Provincial political contributions: $1,513.29. This does not include leadership or party convention fees of up to $430. Local campaign contributions: $1,429.70 per campaign. Limits are adjusted each year. Tax receipts: Registered provincial parties and constituency associations can issue income tax receipts for contributions of money, but not for goods or services. Local campaign contributions do not get tax receipts. What becomes public: Provincial: if you give more than $250 in a reporting period, Elections BC publishes your name and amount. Local: if you give $100 or more, Elections BC publishes your name and amount. Cryptocurrency: Elections BC allows contributions of cryptocurrency and NFTs at their market value when given. The usual limits and rules still apply. Donating to the AI Party of BC: We are not registered yet and do not accept contributions. You can tell us you would like to give, and we will let you know when donations open. ## The party in Vancouver URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/communities/vancouver Vancouver is BC’s tech centre. It has Canada’s highest concentration of tech talent and is also where many people are asking the hardest questions about AI. Vancouver ranked first in Canada for tech talent concentration and second for its startup ecosystem in 2024 rankings cited by Trade and Invest BC. Our goal is for that second place to become first, then to compete across the continent. TELUS plans two AI facilities here: one in Mount Pleasant and one at 150 West Georgia. Hundreds of people rallied outside city hall in June 2026 to oppose planned AI data centres, citing water, consultation and control of data. A party like ours has to take those concerns on directly. Our platform calls for large users to pay their own grid costs, closed-loop cooling, heat recovery and public decision timelines. Homes approved in weeks: A public permit clock, with AI pre-checks and a qualified official signing off. Companies that stay: Later-stage capital and government buying from BC firms, so scaling up does not mean leaving. Data centres on better terms: New clean supply, closed-loop cooling and heat recovery, with communities able to see every decision. ## The party in Surrey URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/communities/surrey Surrey is where party leader Harry Gill’s company, AdaptAI, is based. It is also a clear test of our idea that tech growth shouldn’t stop at downtown Vancouver. Through AdaptAI, Harry works with businesses across Metro Vancouver, including construction, restaurants and professional services. The pattern he describes is familiar: large corporations have whole teams working on AI, while small businesses are left to figure it out alone. Simon Fraser University has a campus in Surrey, and SkyTrain connects the city to the rest of the region. Those are the foundations of a tech hub: people, training and transit. For Surrey, our platform focuses on regional hubs anchored at colleges and universities, reskilling places open to mid-career workers and faster building approvals. Regional tech hubs: Back hubs outside downtown Vancouver, anchored at local colleges and universities. Training close to home: New tech seats and reskilling places for people already working here. Faster approvals: One digital permit application and a public clock on how long each one takes. ## The party in Kamloops URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/communities/kamloops Kamloops is at the centre of BC’s AI buildout. It has real opportunity and a real right to ask what the community gets out of it. TELUS is expanding its Kamloops data centre into an AI facility as part of a BC cluster planned to exceed 150 megawatts by 2032. CBC News has also reported Bell’s interest in building three centres in Kamloops. Kamloops needs to know what a data centre means for local jobs, power and water, and who gets a say. Our platform would make large users pay for their grid upgrades, require closed-loop cooling and heat recovery, and publish every connection decision. First Nations would be offered equity partnerships first on projects on their territories. Thompson Rivers University gives the city a base for the training side, and our platform backs regional hubs anchored at institutions like it, so the jobs that come with this growth can go to people who live here. A fair deal on power: Large users pay their own grid costs, and connection decisions are public. Local jobs and training: Regional hubs and retraining in every region, not just Metro Vancouver. Wildfire detection: AI detection and response, in partnership with BC Wildfire Service and local crews. ## The party in Kelowna URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/communities/kelowna Kelowna is one of three tech clusters highlighted by Trade and Invest BC, the Province’s trade agency, along with Vancouver and Victoria. It shows that BC’s tech economy doesn’t depend on one city. Trade and Invest BC lists Kelowna among BC’s technology clusters and Accelerate Okanagan among its industry organizations. UBC Okanagan and Okanagan College give the region a local source of talent. The Okanagan’s farms and vineyards are potential customers for BC technology too. Our platform would co-invest with farmers in sensing and automation built in BC, and fund AI wildfire detection with BC Wildfire Service and local crews. Housing is the other pressure here. Our platform’s digital permit application and pre-approved designs are built for communities trying to add homes faster. A stronger Okanagan cluster: Regional hubs anchored at local colleges and universities. Tools for growers: Co-investment in sensing and automation built in BC. Homes approved in weeks: Pre-approved designs and instant checks on applications. ## The party in Victoria URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/communities/victoria Victoria is home to the Legislature and much of the provincial public service. A plan to change how government works will be felt here first. Our platform would give public servants safe, BC-hosted AI tools, along with training, so they can spend less time on repetitive work. People would see a public clock on every provincial service, and could always ask for a human review. Victoria is also a tech cluster in its own right. Trade and Invest BC names it alongside Vancouver and Kelowna, and VIATEC, the Vancouver Island Advanced Technology Centre, serves the region’s tech sector. The University of Victoria and Camosun College supply local talent. We would be asking public servants to work differently, so they should have a voice in how it happens. That is why the platform pairs AI adoption with training and a Worker Transition Fund. A government that answers: A public clock on every service, with human review on request. Rights and oversight: A public algorithm registry and an independent AI Auditor reporting to the Legislature. Island tech growth: Government buying from BC firms, and local talent pipelines. ## The party in Prince George URL: https://aipartyofbc.ca/communities/prince-george A technology capital that stops at Hope is not a provincial plan. Prince George and the North are where our promise of every region gets tested. Forestry and mining are technology customers as much as traditional industries. Our platform would co-invest in sensing and automation built in BC, with the work done close to where it is used. The University of Northern British Columbia and the College of New Caledonia give the region a base for training. Our regional hubs and retraining places would be anchored at institutions like these, including for workers whose jobs are changing. Distance makes some services harder to reach. Our platform would finish high-speed connectivity for rural, remote and First Nations communities, and expand round-the-clock virtual triage with clinicians on call. Connectivity first: Finish high-speed access for rural, remote and First Nations communities. Care closer to home: Round-the-clock virtual triage, with clinicians making clinical decisions. Retraining with a guarantee: Guaranteed retraining for workers displaced by automation.