Young people hold the solution to a sluggish economy, a candidate running in Richmond-Steveston told a business crowd Wednesday. 

“We need to listen to people who are young and ask them and get their ideas. We don’t need more ideas from old people with grey hair,” said Mike Donovan, addressing a Canada Asia Pacific Business Association forum moderated by the grey-haired Thomas Wu.

Donovan represents the Unparty, which he founded with his wife and Richmond Centre candidate Chanel Donovan. His party takes no positions on issues, only advocates for local assemblies aimed at consensus decision-making.

John Yap, the Liberal incumbent in the riding, had a different view, telling a lunchtime crowd at Shiang Garden Restaurant that confidence is necessary for economic growth.

“The way you do that is by ensuring that business feels it’s welcome,” he said, adding that takes consistent, competitive policies and a low-tax environment. “You contrast that to what we hear from Adrian Dix and the NDP when they talk one time about having principles about Kinder Morgan [pipeline expansion] and then changing their minds. This is not how you build confidence.”

Yap’s NDP opponent, Scott Stewart, said market growth requires a stable environment and a budget “that we can believe in.”

“We need the people, business, to have confidence. We made out our financial plan well before the remainder of our platform,” he said. “There will be no surprises under an NDP government. Our tax plan has been announced. It will be stable. We will create jobs by creating a skills training program that’s workable that will help our youth get the skills they need for the future to work in the businesses to provide a stable economy.”

Richmond-Steveston’s B.C. Conservative challenger, Carol Day, said the Liberals have brought in four straight budget deficits, adding the NDP aims to raise taxes. Day said her party will spend smarter. 

Said Day: “Only the BC Conservatives are 100 per cent behind the business community.