BC Raises Provincial Tax, Delays Major Projects as It Faces Record $13.3 Billion Deficit

B.C. Minister of Finance Brenda Bailey tables the provincial budget as Premier David Eby looks on in the assembly at legislature in Victoria on Feb. 17, 2026. The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito

B.C.’s new budget proposes raising taxes on the lowest income bracket and postponing several large capital projects, with the provincial deficit projected to rise to a record $13.3 billion in the upcoming fiscal year.

This falls short of the provincial government’s previously stated goal of cutting the deficit in the near term.