B.C.’s Finance Minister, Brenda Bailey, has delivered the 2026 budget.
Here are five things you need to know.
Raising the deficit
Bailey has promised there would be years of declining deficits, but first it is projected to spike by a hefty 38 per cent to a record $13.3 billion next fiscal year, compared with an updated forecast for the current year of $9.6 billion.
While the deficit is forecast to increase $3.7 billion year on year, Bailey said a “guiding principle” was that the deficit would decrease “over time,” with the ongoing impact of structural changes such as the tax increase and public sector cuts.
But even that does not change the fact that the deficit remains stubbornly high — under the budget’s three-year plan, it would be $11.4 billion in the 2028 fiscal year.
Health care
B.C.’s debt is going to continue to grow, with no cuts in the budget this year.
The cost of servicing programs like child welfare, social assistance, and pharmacare is rapidly escalating.
“The cost to providing care is increasing,” Bailey said in the budget.
“Our government has been working hard to make sure that British Columbians can access the care they need, when they need it. A lot of progress has been made.
“This summer will welcome the very first class of medical students to the new SFU Medical School in Surrey. And in the year ahead, we expect to break ground on the school’s permanent home.”
Get breaking National news
Bailey said more British Columbians are getting a family doctor, which is in addition to the hundreds of maintenance and renovation projects to modernize and upgrade hospitals throughout B.C.
“These projects represent the largest investment in health care infrastructure in B.C. history,” she said.
“But we know there is still much more to do. We must remain focused on protecting what we’ve built and delivering better, faster health care for people. This spring, as part of a national pharmacare agreement, B.C. will provide enhanced public coverage for both menopausal hormone therapy and a wide range of diabetes medication and devices. We are also continuing to fund in vitro fertilization treatments so people can start a family.”
Bailey said a comprehensive review of health authorities has identified administration duplication and redirected savings to the front lines of health care. She said that since the review began, 1,100 administrative positions have been eliminated, closed or left vacant, with those savings to be invested in frontline patient care.
Infrastructure spending
B.C. will pace infrastructure projects “carefully,” Bailey said, to deliver them efficiently without driving up costs.
The completion or construction of some long-term care homes will be delayed, along with phase two of Burnaby Hospital.
There are delays to seven long-term care projects from Abbotsford to Fort St. John, as well as the second phase of Burnaby Hospital and Cancer Care, and student housing at the University of Victoria.
“Our priorities are clear,” Bailey said. “Protect and improve core public services that people rely on, like health care and education. Keep B.C., one of the lowest taxed provinces for middle and working class families. Reduce the deficit responsibly over time while protecting what’s working.”
She said three steps will help the province achieve this — make the public sector leaner, pace infrastructure projects carefully and make changes to generate revenue, while taking action to grow the economy and secure the long-term impact of major projects.
Income tax
Bailey said growth in B.C. has not kept pace with the cost of delivering public services, therefore, the province needs to rebuild a stable and sustainable revenue base.
“People earning under $149,000 will continue to pay the lowest personal income taxes in the country,” she said.
“Budget 2026 includes a change to the first income tax bracket of about half a percentage point. We’ll offset the extra costs for lower-income earners by increasing the B.C. tax reduction credit.
“We’re also updating some household-related taxes, some housing-related taxes; those with homes above $3 million in value will be asked to contribute a little more. The property tax deferment program is being changed to help those who need it most, and the vast majority of homeowners don’t see a change.”
The tax rate on the lowest bracket is being increased by 0.54 per cent, with government staff saying 60 per cent of tax filers will face higher bills, and the average taxpayer will be hit with a $76 hike.
The budget says increasing the bottom tax rate to 5.6 per cent means a maximum impact of $201 on people earning more than $140,000 without additional credits, while credits for some lower earners are being raised.
PST changes
B.C.’s 2026 budget expands the province’s PST tax base to include professional services, such as accounting and bookkeeping, architectural, geoscientist and engineering services, commercial real-estate fees and security and private investigation services.
Bailey said that this change generally aligns B.C. with how other provinces apply sales taxes to these services.
PST exemptions will also be removed from some goods and services such as clothing repair materials, services related to clothing and footwear, basic cable television and landline telephone services.
Bailey said that expanding the tax to these services is generally consistent with how tax applies to these services in most provinces.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade is giving this budget a ‘D’ rating.
–with files from The Canadian Press
Tax Grab/ To charge PST on professional services is robbery as most have no choice.
and a big increase to the property tax deferment program, thanks NDP
Vote em out
I just did the math on the change in property tax deferral program. Starting deferment in 2023 (age 55) to 2048 (age 80) with property taxes of $4,500 in 2023 increasing by 5% per year and the Prime interest rate at 3.5%, instead of interest of $37,353 under the old program, you end up paying $213,839 under the new program…that’s crazy!
NDP disgrace.
Meanwhile shelter costs, especially rents are unbelievably high in Victoria and Vancouver & nothing about that in the budget. What happened to the money laundering via real estate investigation into why the housing market is so high? We no longer have a BC NDP Party. It has become a conservative Liberal Party.Since Horgan left and passed away, it’s been downhill all the way for the NDP.
All in all the BCNDP are stupid.