With just a handful of days left to go until B.C.’s Election Day, party leaders are putting their best foot forward in hopes of drawing in more voters.

But a back-and-forth between BC NDP leader David Eby and BC Conservatives interim leader Lorne Doerkson got heated Monday. Eby was in Vancouver, affirming his support for a united Canada, as Albertans headed to the polls to vote on whether they want to be separated from the country.

“A strong, united Canada is what every single person I talked to wants,” he said.

“Not everyone knows who our biggest trading partner is. It’s Alberta. We have family and friends and connections across those mountains.”

Eby then accused members of the provincial Conservative Party of supporting a B.C. separatist group.

“Not one, not two, but three Conservative MLAs right now are members of a separatist Facebook group called the B.C. Prosperity Group,” he said.

“Brian Tupper, Heather Moss, and David Williams are enabling and legitimizing a fringe political project in B.C. to try and separate us from Canada.”

At his own campaign event Monday, Doerkson was quick to respond.

“Mr. Eby’s attempts to impugn my patriotism and love of this country are absolutely disgusting,” Doerkson said.

“The BC Conservative Party [supports] a strong and united Canada.”

He wouldn’t confirm whether members of his party were in this separatist group, but he did fire back at Eby, who at his event had brought up the Wainwright tragedy that killed two British Columbians.

“We’re going to stand up as a united country for those brave Canadians and mourn with their families and support those who survived with their healing,” Eby said.

Doerkson responded to this.

“It is beyond disgusting and desperate for Eby to evoke the lives of the soldiers lost over the weekend in an effort to save his own political skin,” Doerkson said.

“Frankly, what is wrong with this man?”

Eby responded in an impromptu press conference shortly after.

“I would never ever use the sacrifice of these young men, the grief of their families for political advantage, to attack another party,” he said.

As for campaign promises, Doerkson spoke in Maple Ridge, announcing his party’s plans to fight for the forestry sector.

“We’re going to provide predictable access to fibre,” he said.

Doerkson says the Conservatives’ plans would be to create competitive tax conditions for value-added wood manufacturers and invest in skills training to expand Indigenous participation in forestry.

But questions quickly turned to the BC Conservatives’ costed platform, which has come under fire for using growth projections that are significantly higher than previous budgets and the Bank of Canada expect.

“I think this is completely achievable,” Doerkson said.

“I’ve talked to so many industries who are just waiting for a change in government to invest in this province.”

Meanwhile, in Surrey, CentreBC Leader Elenore Sturko put affordability front and centre, recapping her party’s plans that she says would save a typical two-income family over $500 a year through tax cuts and household savings.

“CentreBC will also fund a 15 per cent increase in transit services by 2030, including additional HandyDart trips for people with disabilities, to work toward restoring intercity bus services in rural British Columbia from 2029,” Sturko said.