B.C. government hints at major cuts in upcoming budget

The finance minister has made it clear spending will have to be slashed in this year’s austerity budget—prompting anxiety over what will be cut.

British Columbians should prepare for significant cuts in the provincial budget to be tabled later this month.

That was the message Finance Minister Brenda Bailey conveyed at a Greater Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon last week.

“I’m going to be the most unpopular person in the province for a while. This is a tough budget. We’re in serious times. This is a serious budget,” Bailey told assembled business leaders.

The latest quarterly report projects the 2025/26 deficit at $11.2 billion.

Carson Binda, of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, says that kind of spending is unsustainable and welcomes a budget that would bring significant cuts.

“Every dollar that we borrow is money that we need to pay back with interest down the line,” he said. “And those interest charges on our provincial debt are already eating up a bigger and bigger part of out government spending.”

Bailey hasn’t said exactly where she plans to slash the red ink—but she did drop a big hint.

“Look, health care is growing at eight per cent year-over-year. And you’ve seen the GDP projections,” she said. “Like, how do you square that circle?”

Health-care costs eat up more than a third of the provincial budget, but with frequent emergency room closures and lengthy wait times top of mind for many people, drastic cuts may be a tough sell.

“Now is not the time to be thinking about cutting direct patient care providers,” said Adriane Gear, president of the BC Nurses Union. “And so, I think that would be a real concern, and I think a real concern for British Columbians.”

Gear went on to suggest some cuts at the bureaucratic level may be more palatable but warns any major reduction in health-care spending has the potential to impact services.

Bailey did not make herself available for an interview with CTV News but did provide a statement.

“Like other jurisdictions dealing with global economic uncertainty and slowed economic growth, B.C. is in a difficult fiscal situation, and now is the time to be thoughtful on how we move forward as a province,” she wrote. “Budget 2026 will reflect the challenges facing our economy while protecting critical services.”

An austerity budget—particularly one targeting health-care spending—presents a fine line for Premier David Eby’s government to walk as it tries to balance fiscal responsibility with the potential of losing support amongst its base.

“They do risk alienating some of their core supporters who are, either, part of the health-care system or dependent on the services it provides, and who are going to perhaps be more critical of the NDP or perhaps less motivated to support the NDP next time around,” said Stewart Prest, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia.

Details of the budget won’t be made public until its release on Feb. 17, but it’s already clear it won’t be balanced.

At the GVBOT luncheon, when pressed for details on when in the future that might happen Bailey did not provide a timeline.