---
title: "Doerkson to Scrap B.C. Housing Targets and Roll Back Bill 44: What It Means Across the Province"
description: "B.C.'s premier-designate says he will scrap municipal housing targets and roll back Bill 44's multiplex rules."
last_updated: "2026-10-29"
---

# Doerkson to Scrap B.C. Housing Targets and Roll Back Bill 44: What It Means Across the Province

Lorne Doerkson, B.C.'s premier-designate, says his government will scrap the housing targets the province set for municipalities and roll back the law that lets multiplexes be built without rezoning[1]. That law is Bill 44, which since 2023 has required most B.C. cities to allow three to six homes on a residential lot.

**Nothing has changed yet.** Bill 44 stays law until the legislature passes a new one[2], and the multiplex bylaws most cities already adopted stay in place after that unless each council changes them.

## What Doerkson said

The B.C. Conservatives won a majority government on October 24, 2026[2]. Days later, Doerkson set out his housing direction: the province will remove its targets on municipalities that made "naughty lists," and roll back Bill 44[1].

Doerkson has been the MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin since 2020[2]. He framed the change as a question of local control:

> "Victoria does not know best on how to build a home in Williams Lake, whether it is a multi-unit apartment or a multiplex. Victoria really doesn't know best. In my community, there's no infrastructure, no sewage, to support that type of building."[1]

He made the same argument during the campaign. "Ultimately, it's not Victoria's place to tell Terrace where they should put housing," he told CBC News on October 16[2].

**How B.C. got here**

- **Nov 24, 2022**: Housing Supply Act passes[9] — Lets the housing minister set binding housing targets for selected municipalities.
- **Sep 2023**: First 10 municipalities get housing targets[6] — Picked from a list of 47, which became known as the "naughty list".
- **Nov 2023**: Bill 44 becomes law[2] — 3 to 6 homes per lot in most cities, and no public hearing for rezonings consistent with the official community plan.
- **Jun 30, 2024**: Deadline for municipal multiplex bylaws
- **Oct 24, 2026**: B.C. Conservatives win a majority[2]
- **Oct 28, 2026**: Doerkson says targets and Bill 44 will go[1]
- **Nov 6, 2026**: Elections BC final count[2] (Expected) — Includes mail-in and absentee ballots.

## Two laws, two different rollbacks

Doerkson's announcement covers two separate laws. Each one needs its own legislation to change, and a third housing law has not come up at all.

**Three B.C. housing laws, and where each stands**

- **Housing targets** (Housing Supply Act, 2022): Binding five-year targets for municipalities picked from a list of 47. Doerkson says the targets go.
- **Multiplex minimums** (Bill 44, 2023): 3 to 6 homes per lot in most cities over 5,000 people. Doerkson says he will roll it back.
- **Transit-oriented areas** (Bill 47, 2023): Minimum densities near SkyTrain stations and bus exchanges. Not addressed so far.

## What Bill 44 requires today

Bill 44, the *Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023*, is the law behind B.C.'s small-scale multi-unit housing (SSMUH) rules. Local governments must zone for:

- **At least 3 homes** on lots of 280 m² or less[2, SSMUH manual, pp. 8–9]
- **At least 4 homes** on larger lots[2, SSMUH manual, pp. 8–9]
- **At least 6 homes** on qualifying lots within 400 m of a prescribed bus stop[2, SSMUH manual, pp. 8–9]

The rules apply inside urban containment boundaries and in municipalities of more than 5,000 people[2]. The law also removed public hearings for residential rezonings that are consistent with an official community plan.

## The "naughty list" and the housing targets

The targets come from the 2022 Housing Supply Act. It lets the housing minister set binding five-year targets for municipalities picked from a list of 47[5], and step in when one falls short. The first ten target orders went out in 2023[6], and more groups followed each year.

**40** — B.C. municipalities that have been issued Housing Target Orders

*Source: [7] Housing Target Order progress report (council report) · As of July 20, 2026*

Some cities on the list have gone past their targets. Victoria's council approved 8,789 homes over its last term, more than its provincial target[3]. For cities like that, removing the target changes little. The cities that fell behind lose the provincial pressure.

## What changes, and what doesn't

- **Nothing changes today.** Doerkson has not been sworn in. A repeal or amendment needs a bill, a sitting of the legislature and Royal Assent.
- **Local bylaws stay.** Repealing Bill 44 removes the requirement, not the bylaws cities already passed. Vancouver's multiplex bylaw was passed by council and stays unless council changes it[2].
- **Public hearings may come back.** To return land to single-family zoning, a council would have to rezone it, and a repeal would likely bring back public hearings for that kind of rezoning.
- **The platform is softer than the speech.** The Conservatives promised in 2024 to repeal Bill 44, but the 2026 platform leaves that out[3]. It promises local control over where density goes, approvals "in months, not years," lower construction charges and a step code overhaul[2].
- **No costs or dates yet.** Details on the cost and timing of the housing measures have not been released[4].

B.C. is not the only province moving this way. On October 8, [Alberta ordered Edmonton to roll back its 2024 infill rules](https://buckybuild.com/en/blog/irresponsible-growth-alberta-orders-edmonton-to-roll-back-infill-rules-what-changes-in-3-months) within three months.

## What it means across B.C.

**Where the Bill 44 rollback lands**

1. Williams Lake — Doerkson's example: no sewer capacity for multiplexes
2. Terrace — His campaign example of local control
3. Kelowna — Fast-growing Interior city
4. Vancouver — Own multiplex bylaw since 2023; stays unless council changes it
5. Victoria — Exceeded its provincial housing target

### Metro Vancouver

Most Metro cities have already pre-zoned for multiplexes, and transit-oriented areas fall under Bill 47, a separate law. A rollback is unlikely to undo much here quickly. The bigger change is less provincial pressure on approval timelines once the targets are gone.

### Capital Region

Victoria's Missing Middle program passed in January 2023, before Bill 44[3]. Councils that chose density on their own terms are unlikely to reverse it. Councils that resisted could start rezoning back.

### Okanagan and Interior

In fast-growing cities like Kelowna and Kamloops, a rollback would matter most in neighbourhoods where multiplexes came only because the province required them. Permits already issued are not affected.

### Northern B.C. and the Cariboo

This is Doerkson's case. Williams Lake has about 11,000 people, above Bill 44's 5,000-person threshold, and he says it does not have the sewer capacity to support multiplexes.

The current rules already address part of that. A Town of Osoyoos briefing describes the SSMUH requirements as applying to lands serviced by local-government water and sewer, and municipalities with infrastructure limits could apply for extensions[8]. For northern towns, the open question is who pays for the pipes, not whether to require the units.

**Check a B.C. lot**

> What does the zoning bylaw allow on my lot at [address] in [B.C. municipality] today, and how many homes could I build there without Bill 44's multiplex minimums?

[Open in Bucky](https://buckybuild.com/en/assist/workspace?panes=chat%2Cmap&prompt=What+does+the+zoning+bylaw+allow+on+my+lot+at+%5Baddress%5D+in+%5BB.C.+municipality%5D+today%2C+and+how+many+homes+could+I+build+there+without+Bill+44%27s+multiplex+minimums%3F)

## What we don't know yet

- Whether the government will repeal Bill 44 outright or amend it.
- When a bill comes. No date has been announced.
- What happens to the target orders already issued, and the progress reports due under them.
- Whether Bill 47's transit-oriented areas change too.
- Whether applications in progress under current zoning get transition rules.

## What to do now

**Four steps for builders and landowners**

1. **Keep permits moving** — Bill 44 is still law, and permits issued under current zoning are not affected by a future repeal.
2. **Read the local bylaw** — Your municipality's zoning bylaw is what applies to your lot, before and after any repeal.
3. **Watch council agendas** — Rezoning back to single-family would happen one council at a time, usually with notice.
4. **Price in timeline risk** — Especially on land bought for multiplex density in cities that opposed Bill 44.

## Sources

1. [Premier-designate says he'll scrap B.C.'s housing targets](https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/video/2026/10/29/premier-designate-says-hell-scrap-bcs-housing-targets/) — News · CTV News Vancouver. Published October 28, 2026. Accessed October 29, 2026.
2. [BC Conservatives Win: What Changes for Multiplex Builders](https://www.vanplex.ca/blog/bc-conservatives-win-multiplex-builders-2026/) — News · Vanplex. Accessed October 29, 2026.
3. [Victoria City Hall Has Lost Its Protection](https://bcpoliticswatch.substack.com/p/victoria-city-hall-has-lost-its-protection) — News · BC Politics Watch. Accessed October 29, 2026.
4. [B.C. Conservatives pledge faster housing approvals](https://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/mortgage-wire/2026/10/26/incoming-b-c-government-pledges-to-cut-homebuilding-barriers/) — News · Canadian Mortgage Trends. Published October 26, 2026. Accessed October 29, 2026.
5. [Revealed: All 47 municipalities on BC housing 'naughty list'](https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/bc-government-documents-reveal-all-47-municipalities-on-housing-naughty-list-7100747) — News · Times Colonist. Accessed October 29, 2026.
6. [B.C. sets housing targets for 'naughty list' municipalities](https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate/bc-sets-housing-targets-naughty-list-municipalities-8273550) — News · Business in Vancouver. Accessed October 29, 2026.
7. [Housing Target Order progress report (council report)](https://www.nanaimo.ca/docs/property-development/community-planning/housing/rpt_c260720_housingtargetprogressreport.pdf) — Government · City of Nanaimo. Accessed October 29, 2026.
8. [Small-scale multi-unit housing: extension request (council presentation)](https://www.osoyoos.ca/sites/osoyoos.ca/files/2024-12/Presentation20240515SSMUHExtension.pdf) — Government · Town of Osoyoos. Published May 15, 2024. Accessed October 29, 2026.
9. [Election Day 2026 recap of BC housing legislation](https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2026/10/24/provincial-election-day-2026-recap-housing-legislation/) — News · CityHallWatch. Published October 24, 2026. Accessed October 29, 2026.


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