19.34°C Vancouver

Mar 1, 2023 2:43 AM - The Canadian Press

$4.2-billion deficit forecast as B.C.’s budget announces funding for new housing and health-care spending

Share On
4-2-billion-deficit-forecast-as-b-c-s-budget-announces-funding-for-new-housing-and-health-care-spending
$6.4 billion in new health spending, including $2.6 billion for health services such as cancer care, $1.1 billion to attract and retain family doctors, and more than $1 billion for mental health and addictions services.(Photo: The Canadian Press)

B.C. Finance Minister Katrine Conroy while presenting the budget today said that her budget was addressing affordability issues and now was the time to bring in more relief for renters.

The highlights of the 2023 British Columbia budget presented on Tuesday include:

$6.4 billion in new health spending, including $2.6 billion for health services such as cancer care, $1.1 billion to attract and retain family doctors, and more than $1 billion for mental health and addictions services.

There’s also $875 million in 2023-2024 for COVID-19 measures.

$4.2 billion in new housing funding, including $1.7 billion to build more homes, $575 million for student housing, and more than $1.5 billion to reduce homelessness with modular homes and other measures.

Economic growth is forecast to fall from 2.8 per cent in 2022 to 0.4 per cent in 2023, before climbing to 1.5 per cent in 2024 and 2.4 per cent in 2025.

The 2022-2023 surplus is projected to be $3.6 billion.

$317 million for policing and BC Corrections, including the repeat offender program and a new special investigations and targeted enforcement program.

A further $80 million is set to boost access to justice while $65 million is aimed at other public safety initiatives.

$119 million for free prescription contraception, starting April 1, making B.C. the first jurisdiction in Canada to provide free birth control.

$558 million to increase financial supports for recipients of income and disability assistance.

10 per cent increase in B.C. Family Benefit payments from July 2023, with single parents receiving a further boost of up to $500 per year.

The B.C. carbon tax will increase $15 per tonne each year until reaching $170 in 2030.

Climate action tax credits will be expanded, with a four-person family receiving a maximum of $900 a year, up from $500.

Latest news

BCSep 03, 2025

Phone services, including the 911 landline, down in northern Vancouver Island

Residents in parts of northern Vancouver Island are without landline and cellphone service due to what telecom provider Telus says was damage to infrastructure caused by vandalism. The company's service status map shows both Port McNeill and Port Hardy without home phone, mobile, internet and 911 landline service due to what it says is "damage inflicted upon Telus infrastructure." Other communities on Vancouver Island, including Alert Bay, Campbell River and Port Alice, have also been affected. Emergency Info B.C. says on social media that residents should still try to call 911 if they have an
train-cars-leave-the-tracks-in-b-c-s-kootenay-region-near-albertas-boundary
BCSep 03, 2025

Train cars leave the tracks in B.C.'s Kootenay region near Alberta's boundary

Federal investigators are looking into a train derailment in British Columbia's Kootenay region near the Alberta boundary. The Transportation Safety Board says in a statement that a team is being deployed to the site near Elko, B.C., where investigators will gather information and begin to assess what caused the derailment. A spokesman with rail operator Canadian Pacific Kansas City has confirmed the derailment at about 8 p.m. Tuesday, where multiple cars left the tracks. CPKC says the 12 cars involved were empty and no one was injured as a result of the derailment. It says its crews responded
poilievre-calls-on-liberals-to-scrap-the-temporary-foreign-worker-program
CanadaSep 03, 2025

Poilievre calls on Liberals to scrap the temporary foreign worker program

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the Liberals to scrap the temporary foreign worker program and to stop issuing visas under the program. Poilievre argues a jobs crisis among young people has been caused in part by corporations hiring foreigners who work for less than Canadian citizens. He is calling out specific fast-food chains he claims are hiring foreigners over locals, including through job postings that call specifically for temporary foreign workers. Poilievre accuses the government of creating conditions that frustrate the efforts of young people to start their working
putin-meets-north-koreas-kim-in-beijing
WorldSep 03, 2025

Putin meets North Korea's Kim in Beijing

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have met to begin bilateral talks in Beijing. The two leaders met formally at the Diaoyutai state guest house after attending a major military parade in the heart of the Chinese capital marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Putin and Kim traveled from a formal reception to the negotiations in the same car, the Kremlin said in a post on social media.
carney-cabinet-meets-to-prepare-for-parliaments-return-debate-trade-war-strategy
CanadaSep 03, 2025

Carney cabinet meets to prepare for Parliament's return, debate trade war strategy

American tariffs and an upcoming review of the continental trade pact will headline discussions today as Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet begins its two-day retreat in Toronto. While previous governments referred to these sorts of gatherings as cabinet “retreats,” Carney’s office is rebranding the event as a “cabinet planning forum.” The meetings come two weeks before the House of Commons is to return for the fall sitting and about a month or so before Carney's new government presents its first federal budget. Ministers are expected to spend most of their time discussing U.S. Pre

Related News