BC Budget 2025: A Fiscal Crisis in the Making
BC’s 2025 Budget is an exercise in political convenience rather than responsible governance. It lacks focus, accountability, and a coherent plan for long-term prosperity. With historic deficits, skyrocketing debt, and failing public services, this budget represents a government that spends endlessly without solving anything.
The cost-of-living crisis continues to worsen, healthcare remains in disarray, public safety is deteriorating, and taxpayers are footing the bill for a government that refuses to prioritize or reform. Where is the leadership? Where is the plan? This budget answers neither.
This analysis highlights the reckless mismanagement at play and outlines a new path forward—results that British Columbians deserve.
Key Budget Failures (2025-2028)
Deficit: $10.9 billion (2025/26), $10.2 billion (2026/27), $9.9 billion (2027/28) – No path to balance, ever.
Total Debt: Projected to explode from $133 billion to $208 billion – a financial burden that will crush future generations.
Debt-to-GDP Ratio: 22.9% (2024/25) → 34.4% (2027/28) – spiraling out of control with no plan to reverse course.
Annual Interest Costs: Increasing from 4.3 cents per revenue dollar (2024/25) to 6.9 cents (2027/28) – billions wasted on servicing debt instead of improving services.
Taxpayer-Supported Capital Spending: $45.9 billion – yet where are the results?
There has been no A-base/B-base spending challenge since this government took office. That means spending is never reviewed for effectiveness—it just grows. Bureaucracy expands, inefficiencies pile up, and taxpayers get nothing in return.
A Province in Decline: The Real Impact of This Budget
British Columbians are paying more for everything, yet their daily lives are getting worse. This budget does nothing to change that.
The Cost-of-Living Disaster
Housing remains unaffordable. The average monthly cost of living in BC is approximately $2,200, making it the most expensive province in Canada. Rent and mortgage costs continue to outpace wage growth, and policy measures have failed to increase supply.
Groceries, gas, and basic goods are more expensive than ever. BC’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 2.6% in 2024, and private transportation costs surged by 4.8% in early 2025, with gasoline prices alone jumping 8.7%.
Middle-income earners are being taxed into submission. Instead of making life easier, this budget ensures that hard-working British Columbians keep less of what they earn, while tax burdens continue to grow.
Healthcare: A System in Freefall
Vancouver Island has some of the worst healthcare access in Canada. ER closures, doctor shortages, and endless waitlists define the experience of patients across BC. Over 17% of Canadian adults—more than 5 million people—reported having no access to a regular healthcare provider as of 2024.
Billions more spent on healthcare, yet service delivery remains abysmal. Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, for example, operates with just 346 inpatient beds and 70 specialists, leaving local residents with few options for care.
No serious effort to address the doctor shortage. Thousands remain without access to primary care, yet government inaction persists.
Public Safety: Crime is Up, Confidence is Down
Street crime is rampant, and business owners are suffering. This budget throws money at the problem without any real crime reduction plan.
Repeat offenders face no real consequences. The justice system is failing, yet nothing in this budget proposes meaningful reform.
Communities are less safe. Law enforcement is stretched thin, while crime rates in major cities climb.
Government Services: Bigger Bureaucracy, Worse Outcomes
Massive public sector expansion with no service improvement. Since taking office, the government has added hundreds of full-time unionized positions in areas such as laundry, food, office cleaning, and multimedia production—services once provided efficiently by private contractors.
Real per-person government spending is rising at an unsustainable rate. Since 2017, spending has grown at a 4.8% annual compound rate, far outpacing revenue growth, with no corresponding improvement in public services.
Government digital services are outdated and inefficient. Long wait times, broken websites, and bureaucratic inefficiencies make daily life harder for citizens and businesses alike. Despite billions in spending, BC’s government operates like it’s still in the 1990s.
No Leadership, No Solutions
This budget admits BC is in crisis but offers no real plan to fix it.
Primary care shortages: No credible strategy.
Addiction crisis and poisoned drug supply: No coordinated plan.
Crime and public safety: No systemic reform.
Affordability: No tax relief or economic stimulus.
Government isn’t just failing—it’s actively making things worse.
A New Fiscal Direction: Accountability, Efficiency, and Growth
The solution isn’t just about spending less—it’s about spending smart and focusing on what truly matters.
Fiscal Responsibility & Government Reform
Introduce A-base/B-base budget reviews. Eliminate wasteful spending, demand accountability, and ensure taxpayers get real value.
Cap new spending growth. End the cycle of reckless expansion and prioritize efficiency.
Reduce debt burdens. Balance the budget through smarter spending, not higher taxes.
Modernize government services. Bring BC into the 21st century by making government efficient, accessible, and accountable.
Affordability & Economic Growth
Lower taxes on working families and businesses. Stop squeezing British Columbians and give them breathing room.
Slash unnecessary regulations. Let businesses grow and create jobs instead of drowning in red tape.
Reassess carbon tax policies. Ensure affordability while maintaining environmental responsibility.
Expand housing supply. Remove barriers to development and create more homes for British Columbians.
Public Safety & Social Stability
Enforce law and order. Crack down on repeat offenders and violent crime.
Expand addiction treatment and recovery programs. Move beyond failed harm-reduction-only approaches.
Support local businesses and communities. Ensure policies foster stability and prosperity instead of stifling growth.
BC Needs Real Leadership, Not More Spending
This budget is a disaster—a patchwork of spending increases with no measurable improvement to public services, affordability, or economic opportunity.
For years, British Columbians have been told that more government spending will fix the problems in healthcare, housing, affordability, and crime. It hasn’t. In fact, everything is worse. And now, BC’s debt is set to explode, leaving future generations to deal with the consequences.
British Columbians deserve better. They deserve a government that prioritizes fiscal responsibility, measurable results, and policies that actually work.
This isn’t about ideology—it’s about competence, discipline, and leadership. Until BC gets that, budgets like this will continue to push the province deeper into crisis.
The time for change is now.