updated
B.C.’s GDP up 2% in 2025, says finance minister
Posted August 10, 2026 11:47 am.
Last Updated August 10, 2026 12:05 pm.
British Columbia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased two per cent in 2025, according to the provincial government.
Minister of Finance Brenda Bailey points out this is higher than the 1.8 per cent forecast in the budget, which was released March 4, 2025 — the same day the U.S. implemented tariffs on many Canadian goods.
At the time, Bailey called it the “most consequential time in B.C. in generations.”
“We released Budget 2025 during a time of incredible uncertainty,” she said Monday.
“We responded by protecting investments in front-line services and programs that save people money, and by expediting the major projects we need to create jobs and economic growth.”
Meanwhile, Bailey says the provincial deficit dropped $3.3 billion, reaching $7.7 billion. This is more than $3 billion lower than the forecasted deficit of $10.9 billion.
The provincial government says this is in part because spending on “hospitals, schools, and post-secondary facilities fell by around $4 billion due to “project scheduling changes.”
Bailey said earlier this year that government would be “re-pacing” several projects as part of a larger plan to trim back the deficit.
The update says revenues were $2.86 billion higher than previously budgeted, mainly due to the legal settlement with tobacco companies, which will pay $3.6 billion over 18 years.
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/08/29/bc-starts-big-tobacco-settlement-initial-payment/
The provincial debt, however, is up about $700 million from the previous forecast to $154.7 billion.
— With files from Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
