BUSINESS COUNCIL OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Ahead of the 2026 provincial budget, the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) emphasized the need for the province to stabilize its fiscal trajectory by restraining spending and improving conditions for private sector investment and hiring. Today’s budget does not accomplish either of these objectives.

The deficit deteriorates to a record $13.3 billion in 2026/27, $3.1 billion larger than projected in last year’s budget. At 2.9 per cent of GDP, the deficit far eclipses the one during the COVID-19 emergency of 2020/21, when the government ran a deficit of $5.6 billion (1.8 per cent of GDP).

“B.C.’s finances have unraveled at a breathtaking speed over recent years as spending growth has far outpaced revenue growth. Households and businesses also face around $4 billion in tax hikes over three years to try to plug the fiscal hole in a further blow to private sector economic activity,” says David Williams, BCBC’s Vice President of Policy.

We are profoundly disappointed to see major tax hikes at a time when British Columbians can least afford them. B.C. has seen only 6 per cent growth in private sector employment since 2019, compared to a 40 per cent increase in public sector employment. B.C. has also been losing around 50,000 to 70,000 people annually in out-migration to other provinces. These are levels unseen since the mid-1970s and late-1990s. Today’s tax hikes are likely to reinforce these worrying trends and further dampen private sector economic activity.

“The current fiscal plan fails to stabilize the province’s finances,” says Jairo Yunis, BCBC’s Director of Policy. “Debt servicing is the fastest growing line item in this year’s budget. Provincial finances remain on track for a fifth consecutive credit rating downgrade that will further increase the cost of debt servicing.”

Despite today’s budget failing to meet the moment, BCBC continues to call for greater discipline over spending growth, and policies that improve conditions for private-sector investment and hiring.

BC FEDERATION OF LABOUR

Today’s provincial budget charts a course toward reducing the deficit while preserving some key public services, the BC Federation of Labour said today. But they warned British Columbians will feel the impact of cuts and program pauses, and the government left key revenue-generating opportunities on the table.

“It’s good to see BC making a historic commitment to skills training, opening up great, well-paid careers in the trades for thousands of people. The $54 million lift for Skilled Trades BC will increase apprenticeship seats and build a stronger trades labour force,” said BCFED President Sussanne Skidmore.

“But the budget lacks a defined strategy to address BC’s struggling post-secondary sector — a key piece of economic infrastructure in building a stronger and more diverse economy — amid wide-spread program cuts and layoffs.”

“British Columbians expect public services to be there when we need them,” said BCFED Secretary-Treasurer Hermender Singh Kailley. “Yet the government has announced staffing cuts.”

“We need more clarity on where those 15,000 jobs will be cut, and that they won’t have an impact on front-line delivery. The public wants services to be improved, and government should reinvest management-level cuts back into front-line services,” he added.

“An additional $300 million for childcare demonstrates an ongoing commitment to affordable spaces, and to the early childhood education workers who deliver for kids and families,” Skidmore said. “This is one of the government’s most important initiatives for working families and the BCFED will continue to advocate for full access for all British Columbians.”

The Province’s planned cut in funding for the Employment Standards Branch (ESB) represents “an unacceptable reduction in much needed support for BC’s most vulnerable workers,” said Kailley.

“We’ve been calling for more funding for the ESB for years. These cuts put low-income workers at risk of wage theft and mistreatment. In the midst of an affordability crisis, we must make sure workers aren’t losing access to their paycheques or being taken advantage of. Cuts like this hurt.”

The BC NDP government acknowledged the need to focus on revenue generation, not just belt tightening. “We support modest tax increases on those British Columbians who can afford to pay more,” said Skidmore. “But with income inequality growing, the government should have focused its tax measures on our province’s wealthiest, and done more to address affordability pressures on low- and middle-income British Columbians.”

Acknowledging the government faced difficult choices in drawing up the budget, Skidmore added: “It’s a tough time to govern. But it’s an even tougher time to make ends meet as a worker in BC. Working people need to know our government is there for them and this budget could have done more.”

BC TEACHERS’ FEDERATION

The BC Teachers’ Federation responded today to the government’s 2026 provincial budget, which maintained status quo funding for public education at a time of cuts to other areas.

Budget 2026 includes $634 million over three years in new funding for teachers, student services, and inclusive learning. This figure reflects student enrollment estimates and the rising number of students with complex needs.

BCTF President Carole Gordon said that while it’s positive that public education was not a target of dramatic cuts, the budget doesn’t address long-standing issues like the overall funding shortfall for inclusive education, and it adds pressure on families who need more support.

“This budget stays the course for public education and provides some consistency. However, we know that kids deserve robust and forward-looking investment in their learning environments,” Gordon said.

“Status quo means government funding still won’t cover the real cost of inclusive education to school districts, for example. That means school districts must either pull that money from other services or allow students with some of the most complex needs to go without,” she said.

Even when districts make up for the funding shortfall, 46% of surveyed teachers have said they still felt that students with disabilities or diverse needs were having their needs only slightly or not at all met.

Gordon said it was positive to see the funding for the expansion of school-based childcare, which will support families and help with recruitment and retention of education assistants, who are some of teachers’ closest partners in the care and support of students.

However, she expressed concern about the pause on the $10-a-day daycare expansion and other moves that will hurt families, such as a tax bump on the lowest income bracket and barriers to support for families of kids with complex needs.

“Education does not exist in isolation, and when governments choose restraint over investment, classrooms feel the impact. When families struggle, schools do their best to step in to support kids,” Gordon said.

During a period of fiscal restraint, the Federation emphasized the importance of taxpayer funds going toward public schools. Budget 2026 maintains the funding formula for independent schools, including elite private schools, with more than $600 million in operating funding.

“Public schools welcome every child through their doors, and we know that working families will feel the impacts of restraint,” Gordon said.

Highlights of the budget:

• $3.9 billion in capital spending for K–12 school projects
• $167 million for the Classroom Enhancement Fund for additional teachers for all students, special education teachers, psychologists, and counsellors
• $415.1 million to fund public school enrolment; $46.2 million for independent school enrollment.

HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES’ UNION

With public health care under pressure across the country, B.C.’s Budget 2026 protects frontline health care services in British Columbia.

The Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU) says government’s ongoing financial commitment is critical at a time when the health care system continues to face unprecedented demand from a growing and aging population.

“Public health care matters to everyone in B.C.,” says Lynn Bueckert, HEU secretary-business manager. “During tough economic times, it’s more important than ever to invest in the public services our communities rely on. This Budget recognizes the need to protect and maintain critical health care services.”

The B.C. Budget also recognizes a recent Memorandum of Agreement negotiated under the Facilities Bargaining Association collective agreement, which will support 5,000 seniors’ care workers with fair wages, benefits, and protections.

“This agreement supports long-term care and assisted living workers in moving to public sector wages, benefits and working conditions,” said Bueckert. “That means more stability in the workforce and more consistent care for seniors and families.”

Budget 2026 also announced adjustments to the timing and delivery of previously announced new public long-term care facilities and the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment project.

“In the coming years, we need an ambitious capital plan to build public and non-profit care homes,” said Bueckert. “We hope government will revisit these timelines as the economy stabilizes, because our communities urgently need these investments.”

The HEU represents 60,000 health care workers in British Columbia.

BC BUILDING TRADES

For the first time in more than two decades, the Government of British Columbia is making a historic $241 million investment in the province’s trades training system — a transformative step toward strengthening B.C.’s skilled workforce.

The need for this investment has never been greater. Over the next decade, British Columbia must recruit and train tens of thousands of skilled workers to meet growing labour demands and deliver major, nation-building infrastructure projects across the province.

“This investment sends a clear message that skilled trades matter to the future of British Columbia,” said Al Phillips, President of the BC Building Trades and Business Manager and Financial Secretary for UA170. “By working together, we can ensure B.C. has the highly skilled workforce needed to build the projects that will define our province for generations.”

In 2003, provincial funding for trades training was reduced by 20 percent and a new deregulated training model was introduced. The changes led to declining apprenticeship completion rates, reduced access to technical training, and thousands of apprentices falling short of earning their Red Seal certification.

In response, BC Building Trades unions stepped up to fill the gap. By allocating between $0.35 and $1.50 from every construction hour worked toward training, unions have massively subsidized the trades training system. Today, BC Building Trades unions invest more than $30 million annually and sponsor over 6,000 apprentices across their training system.

Union training centres are the cornerstone of B.C.’s trades training system, delivering high-quality, industry-driven education aligned with workforce needs. Strategic investment in these institutions will recognize their proven success and ensure the long-term capacity required to meet British Columbia’s expanding labour demands.

“While we are celebrating this historic investment, we know that maximizing the impact of this funding will require directing investments to the training providers best positioned to deliver results at scale. The BC Building Trades will continue working with government to ensure funding flows directly to non-profit building trades union training schools,” said Brynn Bourke, Executive Director of the BC Building Trades.

ICBA

Tax increases, historic deficits, and record debt make Premier David Eby’s 2026/27 B.C. Budget challenging for B.C. construction businesses, says the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA).

The provincial budget includes a torrent of red ink: $36.9BN in deficits over three years ($13.3BN in 26/27, $12.2BN in 27/28, and $11.4BN in 28/29). Since Eby became Premier less than four years ago, the debt has soared from $91BN to $154BN – and will hit $235BN by the end of the decade.

“This budget, taken as a whole, will do little to bolster economic growth or encourage more capital investment in the province,” said Jock Finlayson, ICBA Chief Economist. “The fiscal picture summarized by the Minister of Finance is sobering and speaks to poor management of the province’s public finances under Premier Eby since late 2022. There is no plan to return to a balanced operating budget or stem the steady growth in total government debt as a share of our economy (GDP). This suggests the province’s credit rating – which has already deteriorated sharply since 2022 – may face further downgrades.”

The news is bad for all B.C. taxpayers. First, a personal income tax hike will pull half a billion more out of B.C. workers’ pockets. It gets worse: the NDP are reintroducing bracket creep, which punishes workers who move from one tax bracket to another by taking more out of their paycheques. This makes it more common for a person to get a raise, move up into the next tax bracket, and actually take home less money due to higher taxes.

Beginning October 1, the Eby Government will add Provincial Sales Tax to architectural services, accounting and bookkeeping, engineering and geoscience services, rental property and strata management services, and commissions on real estate sales on industrial and commercial property. This increases the cost of professional services builders procure on projects and will be factored into bids and project budgets for work starting or extending past that date.

“This government keeps finding new ways to make it more expensive to build. Slapping PST on engineering, architecture, and professional services isn’t clever tax policy – it’s a hidden construction tax that will show up in every project budget in this province,” said Chris Gardner, ICBA President and CEO. “Contractors will price it in, but ultimately, the people paying for housing will foot the bill.”

ICBA is also gravely concerned that the Eby Government continues to underestimate the crisis in Lower Mainland homebuilding. While ICBA projects just 34,000 housing starts this year, the NDP claim 44,000 in the Budget documents.

“The Government can claim whatever housing numbers it wants in a budget document, but cranes, permits, and layoffs don’t lie. The industry experts and our homebuilder members are expecting far fewer housing starts than the government is forecasting,” said Gardner. “That gap isn’t a rounding error – it’s a policy failure at all levels of government.”

One of the few silver linings in this Budget is a funding boost for Skilled Trades BC to provide 5,000 more trade spaces, but in a slowing economy, this poses its own challenges.

“More trade spaces sound nice, but contractors aren’t scrambling to find workers anymore – they’re scrambling to find work,” said Gardner. “With deficits piling up and project timelines being stretched into the future, the pipeline is tightening. You can train all the tradespeople you want, but if the projects aren’t there, the jobs won’t be there for these new workers.”

BC NURSES’ UNION

The BC Nurses’ Union says it recognizes the significant fiscal pressures facing the province and the continued investments in health care announced in today’s budget.

“We know that health care is a priority for British Columbians, and this budget reflects that,” says BCNU President Adriane Gear. “While health care has been prioritized, we were hoping to see more details regarding how various aspects of the budget will roll out.”

Union representatives were in Victoria today, closely examining how the government’s latest fiscal plan will impact patient care, nurse safety and the continued implementation of minimum nurse-to-patient ratios – a key commitment that is already making a difference in units where they are being enforced.

“While this budget acknowledges the value of minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, today’s announcement to pause the delivery of phase two of Burnaby Hospital and Cancer Care and a number of long-term care facilities leaves a series of unanswered questions,” says Gear. “BC’s health-care system is under incredible strain, and an acute care setting is not the place for those requiring long-term care.”

Across the province, emergency departments in rural communities have faced temporary closures due to persistent staffing issues. More recently, service disruptions have extended to maternity and pediatrics units – even in urban areas – underscoring the fragility of the system.

Gear says the government must address chronic system-wide challenges including workforce shortages, emergency department closures, rising violence and increasing patient complexity.

“Not only do minimum nurse-to-patient ratios improve the working conditions of nurses; they also ensure patients receive the safe care they deserve,” says Gear. “Nurses are the eyes and ears of health care. This budget protects core services and recognizes the value nurses bring to the system.”