British Columbia sets out widening deficit in election-year budget

British Columbia plans to ramp up borrowing and add billions in spending for infrastructure, health care and education to address its rapidly growing and aging population.

Canada’s third-most populous province on Thursday projected its budget deficit would widen by a third to a record $7.91 billion in the year through March 2025. The government projected the shortfall would narrow over the next three years even as the province makes large investments across hospitals, schools, housing and transportation.

The budget for the coming fiscal year includes $618 million in one-time family benefits and electricity credits ahead of the provincial election, which is expected in October. The province forecasts that total debt will swell to $165 billion by fiscal 2027 from $103.8 billion this year.

Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, of the province’s governing New Democratic Party, defended the rising debt, telling reporters in the provincial capital of Victoria that British Columbia has “one of the most affordable debts in the country compared to other jurisdictions similar to ours.”