Finance Minister Brenda Bailey has tabled the 2026 provincial budget containing a $13 billion deficit.
“Over the past eight years, we have built schools, hospitals and invested in the services British Columbians rely on every day,” said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Finance. “Our investments have allowed us to enter these uncertain times from a position of strength, but we need to be realistic about the difficult financial situation we face as a province. We are choosing to safeguard what we’ve built, while growing our economy to secure good jobs and economic prosperity for people and families.”
Budget 2026 opens the door further for people to train for good-paying careers in the skilled trades through $283 million in new funding over three years. This will expand spaces for in-demand trades training programs, increase per-seat funding to training centres, and enhance the B.C. Employer Training Grant to double apprenticeship seats by 2028-29.
A new $400-million British Columbia strategic investment fund will help B.C. invest quickly in collaborative opportunities and major projects as the federal government invests in Canada’s sovereignty.
Budget 2026 supports businesses to leverage new opportunities through a new temporary Manufacturing and Processing Investment Tax Credit for investing in new buildings, machinery and equipment.
To support B.C.’s maritime sector, which is the largest in Canada, Budget 2026 extends the Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Industry Tax Credit until the end of 2027.
Safeguarding what matters most in turbulent times
Budget 2026 protects the most critical services that people rely on every day through $5.1 billion in funding to strengthen health care, K-12 education and supports for people who need care and assistance.
This includes funding to recruit and train more health-care professionals, such as doctors, nurses, and long-term care support workers in communities across B.C.
Budget 2026 includes $634 million in new funding for K-12 education over three years, including a $167-million investment in the Classroom Enhancement Fund, which will result in more teachers for everyone, as well as special-education teachers and teacher psychologists and counsellors.
New investments of $131 million will support intensive, specialized mental-health and addictions treatment for people with concurrent challenges of complex mental illness, addictions and acquired brain injuries. It will also fund involuntary treatment beds in Prince George, Maple Ridge and Surrey.
A new $330-million lift to ChildCareBC will protect the child care services families rely on by maintaining lower fees, and the spaces and support for operators and educators achieved over the past eight years. Budget 2026 also provides $25 million in new funding to support the expansion of child care options on school grounds.
With $475 million in new funding for children and youth with disabilities, families will get direct funding for support services and better access to more service providers in their communities.
Budget 2026 provides $139 million in funding over three years to reduce repeat, violent offending and chronic property crime, and support timely access to justice.
Making disciplined spending choices to reduce spending and increase revenue
Government has exceeded initial targets set in Budget 2025 for expenditure management through operational and program savings. Budget 2026 continues that work by introducing targets to reduce the size of the public sector, and generates new revenue over the three-year fiscal plan.
“We are making careful choices to secure B.C.’s future,” Bailey said. “We are updating the tax system to raise revenue and prevent cuts to critical services, while keeping B.C. one of the lowest-taxed provinces for working and middle-class families. At the same time, we are reducing government spending and carefully repacing our capital plan to deliver services and infrastructure more efficiently.”
To improve B.C.’s fiscal outlook and raise revenues to protect critical services, Budget 2026 increases the tax rate of the first income-tax bracket by less than 0.6 percentage points. The average increase will be $76 in 2026, and more than 40% of taxpayers will see savings when combined with an increase to the B.C. Tax Reduction Credit. The credit offsets the tax change for British Columbians with lower incomes.
British Columbians with middle incomes will continue to have some of the lowest taxes in the country, and government funding continues to help people with costs through measures such as the BC Family Benefit, more affordable child care and lower car insurance.
Budget 2026 also increases the speculation tax for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners, as well as taxes on luxury homes worth more than $3 million through changes to the Additional School Tax.
Deficits are projected to decline over the fiscal plan from $13.3 billion in 2026-27 to $11.4 billion in 2028-29 as government continues to achieve its targets through the efficiency review, hiring restrictions, and streamlining program and service delivery. B.C.’s deficit-to-GDP ratio is projected to decline from 2.9% in 2026-27 to 2.3% in 2028-29.
B.C.’s debt-to-GDP ratio is among the best in Canada and remains affordable relative to provincial peers, even as the Province works to bring it down.
A sustainable capital plan
The Province is continuing to build infrastructure to create jobs and meet the needs of British Columbians. Over the next three years, government will make nearly $38 billion worth of taxpayer-supported investment to continue construction on 17 major hospitals and acute care facilities, 66 K-12 school additions and improvements, and important transit and transportation expansions.
After years of building infrastructure to close gaps and strengthen services, B.C. is adjusting the pace of the capital plan to make sure it is sustainable over the long term.
Budget 2026 makes realistic choices to raise revenue and safeguard critical services amid a time of financial challenges and global uncertainty, while making the public sector more efficient to ensure more dollars reach the front lines.
Learn More:
* Read the 2026 Budget and Fiscal Plan: https://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/
* To learn more about Look West: Jobs and Prosperity for a Stronger BC and Canada, visit: https://gov.bc.ca/LookWest/
* To learn more about how B.C. is building a strong economy, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/strong-economy
Four backgrounders follow.
Contact:
Ministry of Finance
Media Relations
250-893-1202
BACKGROUNDER 1
Safeguarding critical services
Budget 2026 protects critical services, such as health care and education, and makes new investments to support people who need care and assistance.
Supporting child care and K-12 education
* Budget 2026 includes $634 million in new funding for teachers, student services, and to support inclusive learning as the number of inclusive learning students enrolled is on the rise.
* A $167-million investment in the Classroom Enhancement Fund will result in more teachers for everyone, as well as special education teachers and teacher psychologists and counsellors.
* Another $3.9 billion in capital funding is allocated for seismic replacements and upgrades, as well as projects to address enrolment growth in B.C.’s fastest-growing communities.
* Budget 2026 provides a $330-million lift to ChildCareBC to stabilize the programs and services that families rely on as government works to modernize B.C.’s child care system.
* This stabilization is critical as provinces and territories continue negotiations with the federal government to drive flexibility and resilience across the system.
* This funding will maintain lower fees, and the spaces and support for operators and educators achieved over the past eight years.
* During this stabilization period, the Province will work to bring more equity into the system. After hearing from operators that current funding models limit their flexibility to support high-quality, inclusive care, the Province will pause enrolment of new providers into the Operating Funding Model and the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program during this stabilization period. Families and providers currently in the $10-a-day program will see no changes.
* In fall 2025, the Province took steps to expand child care on school grounds, recognizing that schools are community hubs for families and could play a bigger role in offering child care.
* As the Province continues onboarding the remaining funded New Spaces Fund projects (11,800 spaces), government intends to shift to expanding before- and after-school care.
* Budget 2026 provides $25 million to be used to expand child care on school grounds:
* $5 million in initial capital funding from the Ministry of Infrastructure
* $20 million in operating funding over three years from the Ministry of Education and Child Care
Strengthening health care services
* Budget 2026 invests $2.8 billion in new funding for the health-care system over three years, including:
* $2.3 billion to increase health system capacity and support a growing need for services, including supporting hiring more doctors, nurses and health-care workers, and the planning, development and operation of new and expanded hospitals and health-care facilities throughout the province
* $131 million for intensive mental-health and addictions treatment, including increasing spaces for those who need involuntary care
* $34 million annually to provide access to in-vitro fertilization for almost 1,800 B.C. families
* As part of the Province’s work to secure outside funding, $447 million in federal contributions will help support health services for seniors, including outside-of-hospital treatment for complex medical conditions and improving the safety and quality of long-term care facilities.
* Another $653 million in federal funding will expand public coverage to include free medications for diabetes and enhanced coverage for menopausal hormone therapy.
Help for children and youth with disabilities
* Investment of $475 million will build a more flexible, streamlined and equitable system that is better aligned with the needs of children and youth.
* Budget 2026 invests in three priority areas:
* The new BC Children and Youth Disability Benefit will provide direct funding for approximately 12,000 families of children with significant disabilities who require higher and individualized support.
* The new BC Children and Youth Disability Supplement will offer as much as $6,000 per year to ease financial pressures on low- and middle-income families raising a child with a disability.
* All families will benefit from a 40% expansion in community-based services, including increased behavioural and mental-health supports.
Safer communities
* The Province has been taking action on all fronts – enforcement, housing, health and justice – to stop the cycle of crime and get people the help they need to make B.C. communities stronger and safer for everyone.
* Budget 2026 provides $139 million more over three years to reduce repeat, violent offending and chronic property crime, and support timely access to justice. This includes:
* $73 million to continue to improve access to the justice system and support court operations, including sheriff recruitment and retention, Crown counsel, the judiciary, legal aid, and the BC Prosecution Service
* $16 million for the new Chronic Property Offending Intervention Initiative that strengthens monitoring and enforcement for crimes, such as vandalism and shoplifting that are hurting businesses
* $26 million for the Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative for which early evaluations show the program is resulting in significantly fewer police interactions and faster charge approvals for high-risk violent offenders
* $24 million for the continuation of the Special Investigation and Targeted Enforcement program, and the Community Safety and Targeted Enforcement program, both of which provide valuable resources to police to combat repeat violent offending and address street disorder, and to connect individuals to community services
* The Province will continue to support the fight against extortion, including through the BC Extortion Task Force, which brings municipal, provincial and federal agencies together on intelligence sharing and investigations. The Province has secured federal support for more police officers, increased RCMP helicopter resources, and national co-ordination of efforts to combat extortion.
