BC Govt. Spending Sends Debt Surge Toward COVID and Financial Crisis Levels

A report by the Fraser Institute says the BC government has forecasted a ‘rapid increase’ in provincial net debt over the next three fiscal years.

Office towers, condos and apartment buildings are seen in downtown and the west end of Vancouver, on Jan. 19, 2023. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

British Columbia is on the brink of a significant rise in government debt fuelled by an increase in spending in recent years, according to a Fraser Institute report.

The report compares the government’s current debt forecast to two other periods of rapid debt growth: the post-2008/09 global financial crisis era and the COVID-19 pandemic.