B.C. Budget 2023 bets focus on tax credits and rebates will work amid continued housing uncertainty

There may be a new leader, but the message from the B.C. NDP government in the first budget under premier David Eby remained much the same.

"We have focused on people since day 1, and budget 2023 builds on it," said Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, delivering the province's $80 billion budget on Tuesday, which forecasts a $4.2 billion deficit. 

"We're focused on finding a way back to balanced budgets but not at the expense of the services we all rely on."

Like previous NDP budgets, there were new targeted measures for less advantaged groups ($125 more to the monthly shelter rate) and broad-based tax credits tied to income (increasing the B.C. Family Benefit between $75 and $750), delivered under an inclusive soundbite and slogan — in this case a "Stronger B.C. for Everyone."

Like any budget, there was plenty one could focus on, from nearly a billion dollars over the next three years in mental health supports to the surge in infrastructure spending across the province. 

But nearly six years into this government, one of the biggest questions for some is whether rhetoric around affordability first developed in 2017 matches the realities of 2023.

The obvious example is the much-touted renters' rebate, finally delivered (in the modified form of a means-based tax credit) in this year's budget.

"That was what our commitment was," said Conroy, saying they had continued to hear from renters about the promise since it was first raised before the 2017 election. 

But when the NDP made the promise, the average monthly rent in Metro Vancouver was $1,236, according to the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation. 

In 2022, it had risen to $1,675 — a $441 difference. 

In other words, the $400 tax credit won't even cover a single month of the increases that have been seen for most renters since the NDP first promised it. 

WATCH | Finance minister says government rebates are helping:

And put another way, the maximum two per cent increase that landlords are able to increase rent by works out to an average of $402 for that average Metro Vancouver rental property. 

That's not to say renters — who make up a third of households in British Columbia — haven't gotten assistance under this government. MSP premiums are a thing of the past, and in this budget alone, the shelter rate was increased by $125 a month.