Finance Minister Brenda Bailey listens during an announcement in Burnaby, B.C., Monday, July 7, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Republished September 15, 2025 - 11:23 AM
Original Publication Date September 15, 2025 - 1:01 AM
VICTORIA — British Columbia's forecasted deficit has hit a record high of almost $11.6 billion for the first quarter of the 2025-2026 fiscal year, largely due to the elimination of the carbon tax and amid "global trade uncertainty."
Finance Minister Brenda Bailey is also projecting higher deficits than she previously forecasted through to 2028 as growth slides, while the province's debt is predicted to spike by almost $60 billion over the next two fiscal years.
Bailey’s fiscal update released Monday revises gross domestic product growth down to 1.5 per cent from 1.8 per cent in 2025, and to 1.3 per cent from 1.9 per cent in 2026.
The projected deficit is almost $700 million higher than the government's original $10.9 billion set out in the last update.
“B.C.’s diverse economy and greater access to non-U. S. markets puts us in a stronger position than many of our peers to weather global trade instability, but there is no doubt that tariffs and uncertainty are having an impact and contributing to lower outlooks for 2025 and 2026.”
Deficits over the next two fiscal years are set to spike by about $2.5 billion each year compared to predictions in the provincial budget, with a $12.6 billion deficit forecast in 2026-2027 and $12.3 billion in 2027-2028.
B.C.'s debt is also projected to rise to more than $212 billion in 2027-2028, up from about $155 billion in the current fiscal year.
Bailey said the province continues to have one of the lowest debt metrics compared with other provinces, noting the debt to GDP ratio of 24.5 per cent for 2025-26 is “significantly” lower than Ontario’s and Quebec’s of around 40 per cent.
“While our debt remains manageable compared to our peers, we have work to do to bring down the debt-GDP-ratio down over time.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2025.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2025