In her first full budget, B.C. Finance Minister Selina Robinson has delivered a plan for British Columbia that addresses the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but otherwise stays the course on key government priorities. Budget 2021, introduced on April 20th, includes new funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming years, while making investments to support economic recovery – without raising taxes.  

Coming just one day after a federal budget that featured historic investments in social programs and ongoing pandemic relief, the B.C. budget invests largely in the priorities the BC NDP championed during last Fall’s provincial election – health care, child care, affordability, economic recovery, jobs – with a fiscal plan that will be trending towards balance by the time government faces voters in the next election.  

In December 2020, B.C. projected a $13.6 billion deficit by March 2021. Improved revenue, reduced spending and improved economic outcomes dropped this number to $8.1 billion. Going forward, the deficit is projected to increase in 2021/22 to $9.7 billion and then decline in each of the next three years. Built into these assumptions are large contingencies, in total approximately $10.5 billion over the three-year time frame, nearly half of which relate to pandemic supports and recovery.  

New spending is divided between community investments and recovery on the one hand, and support for business on the other. Community supports include investments in health care (counting direct COVID-19 spending and mental health), addictions, income and disability assistance, housing, child care and education, while recovery spending focuses on training, job creation, CleanBC (the Province’s climate action plan) and community infrastructure. Businesses will continue to be assisted through targeted grants, tax exemptions, and incentives.

On the affordability front, families will benefit from the expansion of $10-a-day child care, elimination of transit fares for children 12 and under, full implementation of the Child Opportunity Benefit, more affordable housing, and reduced auto insurance rates.  

Risks to the budget forecast are largely tied to ongoing volatility within the province and beyond, as global economic recovery can best be described as uneven and unreliable.  

The B.C. government was criticized for failing to include additional supports for small businesses struggling to survive the pandemic, the absence of a provincial sick leave program, and no additional funding for the safe supply of prescription opioids to prevent overdose deaths.

The opposition BC Liberals slammed the government for coming up short on a strategy for creating jobs: “There’s no plan for economic recovery, there’s still no jobs plan, and there’s nothing to make British Columbians feel hopeful about the future of this province as we move beyond COVID-19,” said Mike Bernier, BC Liberal Critic for Finance.  

Others, including the BC Green party, criticized the budget for lacking ambition on social programs and addressing climate change. “I had been hoping to see a far more ambitious agenda from this government. This is the time to recognize the pivotal moment we are in, when we can pair our recovery from COVID-19 with a transformative plan that ensures a green and just future for B.C.,” said Sonia Furstenau, B.C. Green Party Leader.

The group Together Against Poverty Society called the budget “an important step in the right direction,” but expressed concern about rising costs of living and rising house prices that “will outpace anything the government can do in terms of increasing benefit rates.”

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