B.C. finance minister faces heat over increasing deficit, projection errors

Finance Minister Josie Osborne. Photo by Nick Procaylo/Postmedia/File

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B.C. Finance Minister Josie Osborne announced Monday that the province is projecting a deficit of over $13.8 billion this year, up from $13.3 billion at the time of the budget’s release in February.

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“We know that U.S. tariffs and global instability are creating uncertainty for workers and communities across B.C.,”said Osborne in a statement.

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“But B.C. is adapting, our exports are growing and we are reaching markets around the world. We continue to work with the federal government to protect the services people rely on and build a stronger, more self-reliant economy.”

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The increased deficit is attributed to $614 million in fighting wildfires, a loss of $458 million from refundable tax credits, and $306 million in lowered projections for natural gas revenues after a $1.5 billion error in the government’s projections over five years.

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Another $225 million was lost from lowered natural gas revenues, meaning the province projects will receive $531 million less in natural gas revenue than it originally forecast.

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Property tax revenue is also projected to be $305 million lower as housing starts are down 9.3 per cent so far this year and home sales are down six per cent.

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The economy overall appears to be struggling with 16,400 jobs lost so far this year and the unemployment increasing by 0.4 points from 2025 to 6.5 per cent.

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Economic growth has also been lower than expected, with updated projections showing provincial GDP is expected to increase by only 0.9 per cent this year, down from the budget estimate of 1.3 per cent.

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Deficits in the 2027-28 and 2028-29 fiscal years are also expected to increase by $500 million each, with projected deficits for the next fiscal year sitting at almost $12.7 billion and the year after at just under $12 billion.

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Osborne is set to address the updated forecast at a press conference in Victoria this afternoon.

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More to come …

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