B.C. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey says the first quarterly update for the 2025/26 fiscal year will provide the latest picture of the province’s economic landscape and her government’s three-year-fiscal plan.
Bailey, who will present her update Monday morning at the provincial legislature in Victoria, says the update will also include reporting on revenue and spending in the first quarter of the fiscal year.
B.C.’s final deficit for the 2024 fiscal year came in at $7.3 billion, $564 million lower than the original projected number in budget 2024.
In March, Bailey’s 2025 budget presented declining deficits from $10.9 billion in 2025/26 to $10.2 billion in 2026/27 and $9.9 billion in 2027/28.
The finance ministry says these figures will be part of Monday’s economic update.
Bailey’s update comes amid strike actions by members of the B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU), which represents about 34,000 public service workers across B.C., and the Professional Employees Association, as well as rising unemployment.
Figures from Statistics Canada released last month show the province’s unemployment rose by 0.3 per cent to 6.2 per cent in August.
Both Bailey and Premier David Eby have also spoken of “economic headwinds” caused by tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.