Home Business & Economy Tariffs & Trade Eby appoints BC cabinet committee on economy & tariffs

Eby appoints BC cabinet committee on economy & tariffs

Committee is chaired by former Government House Leader Ravi Kahlon. Includes Finance Minister Brenda Bailey; Energy Minister Adrian Dix;, Agriculture Minister Lana Popham; and Forests Minister Ravi Parmar.

david eby, ravi kahlon, may 2024
BC Premier David Eby and Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon in the Legislative Assembly, May 2024. [Hardsard / IST composite]
CANADA-USA NEWS & ANALYSIS

Wednesday January 29, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC

by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends


A new BC cabinet committee will protect BC’s economy from tariff threats, it was announced today by the Premier’s office.

Premier David Eby has tasked the new 10-member cabinet committee with coordinating the whole-of-government approach to protect BC’s workers, businesses and economy against ongoing tariff threats from the United States.

premier david eby
Premier David Eby in Vancouver Jan 28, 2025. [livestream]

Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, will chair the committee, which will act as a day-to-day war room to coordinate actions across government to fight back on behalf of British Columbians and grow the province’s economy.

ravi kahlon, housing minister
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon [File: May 7, 2024.]

“The proposed U.S. tariffs are a direct attack on BC’s families,” Premier Eby said. “This threat isn’t going away anytime soon – not while this president is in power. Every minister has an important role to play in fighting back. Minister Kahlon brings deep experience in government to the table and is uniquely positioned to coordinate this work across government ministries.”

“We didn’t ask for this fight, but B.C. will not be bullied,” Kahlon said. “My colleagues and I will work shoulder to shoulder with workers, business and community leaders to meet this moment.”

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Three-point tariff strategy:

The B.C. government has stepped up with a three-point tariff strategy to fight back and protect British Columbians:

  • respond to U.S. tariffs with tough counter-actions and outreach to American decision-makers;
  • strengthen B.C.’s economy by expediting projects and supporting industry and workers; and
  • diversify trade markets for products so British Columbia is less reliant on U.S. markets and customers.
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Fast, tough and focused:

“The new committee will ensure that BC’s response is fast, tough and fully focused on protecting British Columbians, while strengthening, growing and diversifying the province’s economy for the long-term,” the premier’s office says today.

Cabinet members:

Four members of the new BC cabinet committee are long-time experienced ministers — Ravi Kahlon, Brenda Bailey, Adrian Dix, and Lana Popham.

The other six are either brand new MLAs or have been parliamentary secretaries or ministers of state prior to the 2024 election, or are currently a minister of state.

  • Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs (chair)
  • Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation
  • Brenda Bailey, Minister of Finance
  • Adrian Dix, Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions
  • Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture and Food
  • Randene Neill, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
  • Rick Glumac, Minister of State for Trade
  • Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests
  • Jagrup Brar, Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals
  • Tamara Davidson, Minister of Environment and Parks

Budget 2025:

All aspects of BC Budget 2025 will be impacted by tariff considerations, as announced by Finance Minister Brenda Bailey a few years ago.

The Legislative Assembly resumes on February 18 with the Throne Speech followed by the spring session starting on February 19.

Budget 2025 will be released on March 4. [Update: BC Budget 2025 preview was released on February 13, 2025]

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Political & economic news analysis at IslandSocialTrends.ca .

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