The budget put forward a modest $5.7 billion increase in spending over the course of the next three years.
The B.C. NDP’s 2025 budget is projecting a record $10.9 billion deficit in 2025 and a near-doubling of taxpayer-supported debt over the next three years as the province faces 25 per cent U.S. tariffs on most Canadian goods.
Economic forecasters predict the imposition of the tariffs on most Canadian exports to the U.S. could lead to 45,000 fewer jobs in B.C. by 2029 and increase the provincial unemployment rate from an average of 5.6 per cent in 2024 to 6.4 per cent in 2025 and 6.7 per cent in 2026.
Premier David Eby gave a speech to reporters in the budget lockup in Victoria before the speech was delivered. That’s almost unprecedented in B.C. history.
He echoed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in saying that it is clear U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are not about stopping the flow of fentanyl but rather about annexing Canada and making it the 51st state.
“I would say that without doubt the president’s demands were met, and yet it did not matter, didn’t work, because obviously that’s not what this is about,” said Eby.
“We didn’t ask for this fight that the president has brought to Canada and to British Columbia. But I’ll tell you this. We’re not going to shrink from it.”
In response, the premier said the government has directed all provincial-run liquor stores to immediately remove all products from Republican-leaning states, such as Kentucky bourbon, from their shelves. The province will also be working to shift its procurement process to buying only Canadian goods, prioritizing those made in B.C.
Eby told a story about running into a woman at breakfast who told him about her dad, who was a Second World War veteran.
“She said, if he was here, he would tell you, don’t let the bastards grind you down,” the premier recounted.
“You’re big enough to stand on your own two feet. Now go and fight like hell. And I think that’s a great message for all of us here in Canada.”
Unsurprisingly, the tariffs overshadowed the budget itself, which put forward a modest $5.7 billion increase in spending over the course of the next three years.
The spending increases are primarily concentrated in health care, the hiring of new teachers to support the K-12 system and a new ICBC rebate of $110 for all plan-holders.
Specific monetary commitments were limited, but included $4.2 billion for health care over three years, including $500 million for treatment and recovery. There was $45.9 billion for infrastructure projects and $370 million for K-12 schools to help toward the NDP’s goal of staffing every school with a psychologist and every kindergarten to Grade 3 classroom with an educational assistant.
On public safety, the province allocated $325 million on community safety, including $90 million for programs that respond to homeless camps and work to get their residents housing.
As expected, the NDP’s promised $500 grocery rebate was nowhere to be found, with the government announcing it could no longer afford the expense given the threat of tariffs.
The Ministry of Finance has also set aside $12 billion in contingencies over the next three years to prepare for the economic disruption that tariffs will bring.
Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said the budget is focused on strengthening and growing the economy through the acceleration of natural resource projects and $16 billion in transportation investments over the course of the current fiscal plan.
“It is true this is not a budget that has splashy announcements,” she said. “This is about us really focusing our spending and protecting core services for British Columbians.”
Reaction to the budget was mixed, with economists and business associations recognizing the difficulties in planning amid threats of a global trade war but also raising concerns about the size of the deficit and lack of incentives to grow the economy.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade’s CEO, Bridgitte Anderson, said the province’s commitment to fast-track 18 natural resource projects worth $20 billion is a good start but more needs to be done to attract investment in B.C.
“We’ve known for a long time in this province that the cost of doing business is high, that red tape is a significant challenge,” she told Postmedia. “We were hoping that there might be a pathway laid out … we didn’t see that as the tariffs just became the story today.”
Overall, the board of trade gave B.C. a C-minus while giving Trump an F “for the negative economic impacts and higher costs imposed on British Columbians.”
Alex Hemingway, senior economist for the B.C. Society for Policy Solutions, said he was glad the government didn’t make any large cuts to services. At the same time, he said he was disappointed in some of the policies that didn’t receive new funding.
Chief among those was child care, which Hemingway said has been neglected as the province tries to stabilize spending.
“We know that child care enables higher labour force participation. We’re trying to look right now for ways to increase economic growth and productivity. So that’s one example of where social investing is really critical to economic growth,” he said.
Hemingway also praised the $318 million increase in support for the B.C. Builds program but criticized the lack of spending on non-market housing.
As for the opposition, both the Conservatives and the Greens were universally critical and said the budget continues to explode the debt without addressing any of the underlying issues facing British Columbia.
Conservative finance critic Peter Milobar said the province should have focused more on reducing interprovincial trade barriers, saying it could help reduce tariffs between by B.C. and other provinces by up to 23 per cent.
He also said the province failed spend on the agricultural sector and backed away from its grocery rebate commitment despite relying on the same projections as when it made the promise.
“They’ve taken no meaningful steps to try to counter anything with tariffs or actually help our economy, even without tariffs, and that’s where that interprovincial trade is so critical,” he said.
Green house leader Rob Botterell criticized the lack of NDP spending on the environment and threatened to tear up his party’s agreement with the government if it doesn’t start living up to its terms.
He specifically criticized the allocation of only $238 million for fire management when the province spent $1 billion fighting fires in 2024 and the $100 million cut to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
“We need systemic change. This is a stand still budget. It’s not a stand strong budget,” said Botterell.