B.C. ended fiscal year with $5B deficit, as wildfires, lower revenue bite into budget

British Columbia has ended the fiscal year with a deficit of about $5 billion, some $900 million lower than the most recent forecast, but higher than last year’s budget had called for.

The last official look at the province’s finances before the October election says higher revenues from vehicle insurer ICBC were offset by lower revenues from natural resources.

The final $5.035 billion deficit for the year ending March 31 is lower than the $5.9 billion forecast last quarter, but higher than the $4.2 billion originally predicted in the 2023 budget.

A statement from the Finance Ministry says the public accounts show the province spent a record $1.1 billion on wildfire management, exceeding the budgeted amount by $401 million.

It says increased spending on “priority services” including health, education and housing also contributed to the deficit exceeding the budget figure.

Finance Minister Katrine Conroy says it’s the “wrong approach” to respond to fiscal challenges with deep cuts to services.

She says the NDP refuses to “balance the books on the backs of people.”

“With a slower world economy and a growing population, we cannot afford to have a deficit of services,” Conroy said in the statement.

“People face challenges, we take action with smart targeted investments to ease people’s burdens and make sure services are there to support people in B.C., through the year and into the future.”

The public accounts show B.C.’s economic growth was 1.6 per cent, which the ministry says outpaced the national average.

“B.C. continues to have one of the best credit ratings and one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios among provinces,” the provincial statement says.

The deficit is forecast to increase to $7.9 billion in the current fiscal year.