March has been a pivotal month for BC and we’re only halfway through it.
The month started under the shadow of tariff threats, which materialized the day the new provincial government tabled its first budget—the keystone document that outlines government priorities both verbally and by attaching a dollar amount to each one.
Tariff details seem to change daily, but it is clear the escalating trade war and deep uncertainty of on-again off-again threats are spooking business investment, slowing growth, driving up costs and threatening to push more families to the financial brink. To make matters worse, affordability and economic insecurity in BC were worsening long before these new threats emerged.
The economic turmoil facing us demands bold action, yet what we’ve received from the provincial government so far is incongruous with the threat—a pitch to buy BC/Canadian, the removal of US liquor from BC Liquor Store shelves, the possibility of imposing transit fees on Alaska-bound trucks and US-origin coal and a “maintenance” provincial budget that prioritizes caution over ambition, taking a wait-and-see approach to the big challenges ahead.
Maintenance budgeting in an overstretched system
Last fall’s election was fought over what the BC government has branded “kitchen-table priorities”—the affordability issues and essential services that shape the quality of life of everyday British Columbians. However, the BC government argues it has had to put many election promises on hold to focus on tackling the economic attacks ahead of us and that the priority for Budget 2025 is protecting essential public services.
Unfortunately, in many cases, ‘protecting’ means maintaining systems that are already stretched beyond capacity.
In health care, the budget delivers a 4.5% increase to a system that is largely failing the most vulnerable communities. There are funds for small-scale expansions in primary care, home and community care and mental health. However, it is unclear whether this funding will move the dial on the major access gaps facing rural and remote parts of the province, low-income seniors in need of home and community care and people struggling with mental health and addictions.
Child care—once a flagship commitment—sees a small increase thanks to federal funds but no new money from the province. There’s no funding for a province-wide early childhood educator wage grid, leaving the sector struggling with staff retention. The expansion of $10/day spaces has effectively stalled, abandoning too many families to some of the highest child care costs in the country. In public schools, students with special needs continue waiting for support that never materializes. Post-secondary institutions, reeling from a budget crisis caused by cuts to international student visas, have been left to fend for themselves through staffing cuts and program reductions.
Band-aid solutions to the affordability crisis
BC’s affordability crisis continues in full force and is expected to worsen with the escalating trade war, but Budget 2025 only offered a few band-aid solutions. A one-time $110 ICBC rebate is coming soon—a small break for drivers but one that won’t make a dent in rising rents and grocery bills. Those who don’t own a car—including many people with disabilities and low-income households—won’t get this rebate.
The BC government has announced a small increase in rent subsidies available to low-income families with children and low-income seniors, but the subsidy rates haven’t kept up with high market rents, leaving many recipients struggling to make ends meet.
It’s not just people on fixed incomes or living close to the poverty line that urgently need support. Sky-high housing costs, unaffordable food prices and low wages forced a growing number of workers to turn to food banks and other charities to make ends meet in 2024. These charities also need support as donations drop.
“Affordability in BC is expected to worsen with the trade war.”
The missing pieces in Budget 2025 are telling: there are no increases to income-tested benefits and tax credits, no increases or even inflation-indexing to disability, income assistance or BC seniors supplement rates, and no further relief for low- and modest-income renters beyond the $400 refundable tax credit announced last year. And with the carbon tax being eliminated this year, the low-income carbon credit may go with it, leaving many families worse off. Concerningly, many of the fundamental problems driving the housing crisis remain largely unaddressed despite some movement to increase density around transit hubs.
On the infrastructure side, the BC government is moving in the right direction but at the wrong speed. The budget maintained capital commitments despite the economic headwinds, which is a big positive. Public works create jobs and stimulate local economies. So why aren’t key infrastructure projects being expedited in the face of looming economic challenges, to create jobs when needed most?
The lack of new transit commitments is particularly concerning. Election promises for expanded transit service seem to have been put on hold. This represents both an environmental and economic missed opportunity—investing in transit infrastructure creates jobs while reducing emissions and transportation costs for families.
The cost of wait and see politics
There is a cost to BC’s wait and see budgeting. Every year of inaction on systemic problems compounds our challenges. Studies consistently show that addressing homelessness through low-barrier supportive housing costs significantly less than managing it through emergency services and policing. Yet we continue the more expensive approach.
Deferred child care investment means fewer women working, reducing family incomes, tax revenue and spending in local communities. Delaying the transition from fossil fuels to a green economy increases future adaptation costs exponentially. We are underinvesting in our future and what looks like budget caution today will bring deeper economic pain tomorrow.
Had BC made bolder investments in affordable housing, poverty-reduction and transit in the last decade, we’d be in a much better position to withstand today’s tariff threats.
Some may say the BC government spent as much as it could–that with an already record-high deficit, further spending was simply not possible. But that constraint only exists because the government has been unwilling to consider bold new revenue-raising options – new taxes on the wealthy and on excess corporate profits – that could have created additional fiscal room. This is a moment that calls for risk-taking and ambition. Moreover, when social solidarity is needed to confront an external threat, it’s important that people have confidence that the rich are being asked to make sacrifices along with everyone else.
From maintenance to a long-term vision
BC deserves better than maintenance during a crisis.
As the trade war escalates, the provincial government has an opportunity and a responsibility to put forward a long-term vision—one that truly addresses kitchen-table priorities and puts BC on a path to a stronger, more resilient and more equitable province.
Here are three critical components this vision must incorporate.
First, BC must drive economic activity through strategic public investments. Jobs aren’t just about resource extraction. Employment across the province is also created when the provincial government enhances public services, prioritizes local procurement and expedites critical infrastructure projects. In addition to creating jobs, these types of public investments can curb the current economic uncertainty and stimulate the economy, strengthen community resilience and build the social cohesion essential for economic prosperity.
Second, the BC government must use its leverage to steer business activity toward solving our societal challenges—not reinforcing a status quo that marginalizes so many. This means that receiving public funds must be conditional on preserving jobs and reinvesting profits in green innovation, better pay and working conditions, not just boosting corporate profits.
Third, we must build resilience through equity, not austerity. This means support for low-wage workers who will be hardest hit by tariffs. Not only those working in sectors directly hit with tariffs but also those indirectly affected through supply chains and the expected contraction of household spending in the face of uncertainty and job loss.
It means boldly tackling our housing crisis and closing the strikingly large gap between the minimum wage and the living wage. And it means curbing the excessive concentration of income and wealth that undermines trust in our democracy.
This isn’t just about weathering the current economic storm—it’s about building a more resilient province better prepared for future challenges.
