In a move that will certainly add fuel to the flames of snap election speculation, the B.C. government announced Friday that it is delaying the implementation of its controversial expansion of the Provincial Sales Tax. The PST was set to apply to professional services—such as accounting and bookkeeping, architectural and engineering services, private security and more—beginning Oct. 1. Premier David Eby’s office now says the expansion will be “paused” because of the ongoing trade war with the United States. “There’s a time to stay the course and there’s a time to adjust,” Eby said, in a statement announcing the move. “This is a time to adjust. Delaying these changes until well after (U.S. President Donald) Trump’s disastrous trade war is over will give businesses some breathing room as they navigate tariffs and bans while pivoting to other markets.” Since their introduction as part of the deeply unpopular provincial budget this spring, the changes have proven controversial. Industry and small business groups have voiced their concern about the PST expansion and called for the move to be scrapped entirely. Eby’s office says the pause will save “people, local governments and businesses” approximately $260 million this year and next. The government did not set a new date for when the expansion might take place. ‘A very welcome response’ The Canadian Taxpayers Federation, which had also voiced opposition to the government’s plan, was quick to react to Friday’s announcement, issuing a news release minutes after the Eby’s office. The organization called the move a “step in the right direction,” but urged the province to scrap the plan entirely. “Pausing the PST expansion is a good step and it shows the premier is finally listening to British Columbians,” said Carson Binda, the CTF’s B.C. director, in the statement. “A paused tax hike is still a tax hike and Eby needs to cancel this thing outright.” The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade also took a victory lap in the wake of Eby’s announcement, issuing a statement from its president and CEO Bridgitte Anderson touting the organization’s role in pressuring the government into the move. “The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade made stopping the PST expansion our top recommendation to government as part of the response to the trade war and tariffs,” Anderson said. “Today’s decision to pause the planned Provincial Sales Tax expansion is a very welcome response to those concerns.” Anderson said GVBOT members and local businesses sent more than 4,000 letters to MLAs expressing opposition to the change as part of the board’s “Stop the Squeeze” campaign. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business touted its own campaign against the PST expansion, which saw nearly 5,000 signatures on a petition calling for the province to scrap the move. “This is a win for the thousands of small business owners who signed our petition and refused to let this tax hike go through quietly,” said Samantha Howard, the CFIB’s vice-president for legislative affairs in Western Canada. “Expanding the PST to essential professional services would have added more than $500 million in annual costs onto B.C. businesses and consumers at a time when few can afford it.” Like Binda, Howard called for the government to “finish the job” and scrap the PST changes entirely. Snap election speculation The government’s move comes amid speculation that Eby will soon call a snap election in an effort to capitalize on the dysfunction of the Opposition B.C. Conservatives under their new Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay. The Business Improvement Areas of British Columbia, which represents local business associations and was also opposed to the PST expansion, explicitly connected the move to a possible snap election in its statement. “There will obviously be speculation about the timing of this decision and whether the prospect of an election played a role,” said Jeremy Heighton, BIABC’s president, in the organization’s statement. “Regardless of the motivation, when government listens to legitimate concerns, recognizes that a policy is creating unintended consequences and changes direction, that should be acknowledged. This is the right decision.” The clerk of the B.C. legislature confirmed Friday that three more Conservative MLAs—Claire Rattée, John Rustad and Trevor Halford—are no longer affiliated with the party. In a statement on social media, Rattée said she remains a B.C. Conservative and is “not going anywhere.” She also called for Findlay to step down as leader and accused her of “attempting to oust members of her own caucus,” something Rattée argued Findlay “does not have the authority to do.” Nine other B.C. Conservative MLAs have left the party since Findlay became leader, citing issues with her leadership as the reasons for their departure. Seven of the nine have pledged to form a new party. On Friday, former B.C. Conservative MLA Peter Milobar was announced as the new leader of CentreBC. Six other recent Conservative defectors had already joined an unnamed new party led by Milobar, and a seventh—Surrey South MLA Elenore Sturko—joined them under the CentreBC banner at Friday’s announcement. Founded last year by former B.C. United MLA Karin Kirkpatrick, CentreBC was intended to be a political home for voters who found both the governing NDP and the Opposition Conservatives too extreme. Earlier this week, Eby said he had advised his caucus to be “election ready.” He also acknowledged that he’s secured a campaign manager—his former interim chief of staff—and that he has been in touch with Elections B.C. Eby and the NDP won the narrowest possible majority in the last election in October 2024, claiming 47 of the 93 seats in the legislature. The Conservatives won 44, with two for the B.C. Green Party. If he calls an election, Eby will be asking the lieutenant governor to dissolve the legislature less than two years into its term. With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Rob Buffam
