Thursday February 13, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted at 12 noon | Last update February 14, 2025]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Next week the BC Throne Speech comes up on Tuesday February 18, followed by the first day of the Spring 2025 sitting fo the BC Legislative Assembly.
Today BC Finance Minister Brenda Bailey provided a glimpse of the BC Budget that will be fully delivered on Tuesday March 4.
Bailey has promised since being sworn-in as Finance Minister on November 18 that the provincial budget will maintain supports for people (households / low-income) as well as finding ways to help businesses generate more toward GDP. Increasing the overall productivity of the BC economy has been a stated goal as well.
“We will do everything necessary to support British Columbians”, Bailey said today in the context of uncertain if not turbulent times that she lays entirely at the feet of the new US administration.
She said this is “an incredibly challenging context in which to budget”.
No affordability rebate:
“It will not be in the budget” says Finance Minister Brenda Bailey about the promised affordability (aka grocery) rebate. When you hear something like that from an NDP government you know the BC economy is in for a rough ride.
BC Budget 2025 will reflect a four-year overlay of US tariff concerns, including the inflationary impact on all British Columbians in addition to the direct impact on certain industrial and manufacturing sectors.
Bailey has already said in recent weeks that the tariff lens will impact most if not all areas of Budget 2025.
1 pm media session:
“These are unprecedented economic times. The implications could be enormous,” said Brenda Bailey today in her 1 pm media availability.
She said that $69 billion of BC’s GDP could be lost over the next four years if 25% tariffs are applied.
She provided some detail:
- The affordability rebate to British Columbians (as promised in Election 2024) will *not* be in Budget 2025 due the economic uncertainties brought on by the unpredictability of the Trump administration. “I’m disappointed. This was a commitment that we very much wanted to make. We made it with the intention of doing it,” said Bailey. “But the world has changed, and it our responsibility to make sure that we protect the core services for people in British Columbia.”
- The $2 billion that would have been spent on the affordability/grocery rebate “will not be spent”. That effectively means it will be held in reserve and/or spent on unexpected requirements due to uncertain economic times.
- The possibility of a middle income tax cut may be revisited in future budgets.
- Update on the previously announced hiring pause: hiring will continue for jobs in core government services such as social workers, corrections workers. Bailey makes a distinction between public service (working directly for ministries) and public sector.
- If tariffs do come, “defence line number one” will be to protect directly-impacted businesses and sectors.
- There will be cutbacks in any programs that aren’t delivering as intended.
- Travel and consultancy costs are under review.
- Health care, education, social services and “protection on our streets” will be sustained.
- Carbon tax will be removed on individuals if the federal government cancels the carbon tax (as previously announced by Premier David Eby).
- No infrastructure projects have been stopped at this time.
Budget on March 4:
There will be one budget on March 4 (not two versions that might have been the approach due to unpredictability regarding US tariffs).
Minister Bailey met two weeks ago with the BC Economic Forecast Council; further updates to those 13 forecasts “with what are presumed to be the tariff impacts” were since received from about half of those economists, she said today.
That external economic modelling has been included in the provisions coming in the province’s Budget 2025, said Bailey today.
===== RELATED:
NEWS SECTIONS: 43rd BC PARLIAMENT | TARIFFS & TRADE | BUSINESS & ECONOMY