CANADA, December 17 - As global and national pressures persist, B.C. is expecting modest economic growth this year and next year.
Interest rates and high prices continue to affect economic activity, particularly consumer spending and exports, according to B.C.’s latest fiscal report. However, job and population growth remained relatively strong. B.C. led the country in GDP growth in 2023 and is projected to see 0.9% real GDP growth in 2024, followed by growth of 1.9% in 2025 as interest rates and inflation ease.
“B.C. is a great place to live, but high costs are taking too big a bite out of people’s paycheques,” said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Finance. “We are going to keep supporting people with targeted investments – helping families with everyday costs, delivering more homes faster, strengthening health-care services and building an economy that works for everyone.”
B.C. continues to have one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios among Canadian provinces and remains the only province with a triple-A rating from a credit-rating agency.
“As we work to expand our diverse economy, we know we’re facing increased uncertainty with the threat of unjust tariffs on goods going into the U.S.,” Bailey said. “We will continue to reinforce our message to our American trading partners about how integrated our fates are in terms of jobs, opportunities and economic prosperity on both sides of the border. These unjustified tariffs would benefit no one.”
B.C.’s updated projection shows a 2024-25 deficit of $9.4 billion, $429 million more than the first-quarter forecast, mainly due to lower revenues.
“We’ve started work on a plan to reduce the deficit over time, not by putting costs onto people, and not with service cuts,” Bailey said. “We’ll do it by being careful with our budget and by growing our economy so we can pay for the services, for the infrastructure and the supports people need to get ahead and build a good life in B.C.”
B.C. will invest a projected $13.2 billion on infrastructure in the fiscal year, with four new major projects added to the report since the first quarter.
In January 2025, the minister will meet with the independent Economic Forecast Council to discuss B.C.’s economic outlook ahead of Budget 2025. The third quarterly report will be released alongside the budget on March 4, 2025.
Learn More:
To access the fall 2024 economic and fiscal update, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/finances/reports/quarterly-reports
A backgrounder follows.
