British Columbia’s finance minister is forecasting another record deficit in a budget she says defends the province from an unfolding North American trade war that risks tens of thousands of jobs and tens of billions in economic losses for B.C.
Brenda Bailey says “the impact will be severe” but it’s not the time to retreat by cutting spending on public services.
Bailey’s first budget comes on the same day the United States has enacted sweeping tariffs against Canadian imports and it includes $4 billion in annual “contingencies” for “unpredictable costs” including tariff responses.
NEW: BC tables 2025 budget focused on protecting the services British Columbians rely on, strengthening our economy and standing united 🇨🇦 in the face of the economic attack from U.S. tariffs.
— Brenda Bailey (@BrendaBaileyBC) March 4, 2025
The budget predicts a deficit of about $10.9 billion for the next fiscal year starting April 1, up from a new forecast of $9.1 billion this year.
Updated forecasts provided with the budget say the trade war could cost B.C. $43 billion in cumulative GDP losses and 45,000 jobs by 2029.
The forecasts say annual revenue losses could reach $3.4 billion.
