FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, FEB. 19, 2026, VANCOUVER BC – CentreBC characterizes the B.C. government’s 2026 Budget as a “blueprint for bankruptcy” that manages decline rather than delivering results. The government’s refusal to course-correct will bury the next generation under a mountain of debt while failing to fix the affordability and safety crises.
With no path to balancing the budget and a record-breaking $13.3 billion deficit, this government is spending the future of BC’s children to cover their own incompetence. Under this plan, total provincial debt will nearly double to a staggering $40,935 for every single person in B.C. by 2029.
No Relief, Just Higher Bills
Despite 74 per cent of residents disapproving of the government’s handling of the cost of living, Budget 2026 picks the pockets of everyday families:
- Income Tax Hit: The government is increasing the lowest personal income tax bracket by .6% which will cost the average tax payer an extra $76 this year.
- Cruel Credit Cuts: A low-income family of four will see their net tax credits plummet from $2,411 to just $1,623, losing nearly $800 in support.
- Stealth Taxes: By pausing tax bracket indexation until 2030, the government ensures that every time you get a cost-of-living raise, they take a bigger cut
- New PST Hikes: Rather than scrapping the PST on food production to lower grocery bills as CentreBC proposed, the government is expanding the PST to professional services like accounting and engineering which will flow through to consumers.
Asking citizens to pay more for the same failing services is not a ‘Smart Province’ move; it’s a desperate grab for cash from a government that can’t manage its own books.
Smoke, Mirrors, and Halted Projects
The government’s claim of “protecting services” as political theatre that ignores the reality of its spending choices:
- Wasting Savings: The government claims it will save $625 million by cutting 15,000 public service jobs, but they have already out-spent those savings twice over with $1.2 billion in new union spending.
- Caps on Care: Budget 2026 places the tightest spending caps in nearly a decade on health (4%) and education (1.8%), essentially managing the decline of our hospitals and schools.
- Halted Housing & Hospitals: While the housing crisis worsens, the government is “re-pacing”—or halting—critical projects, including Phase 2 of the Burnaby Hospital expansion and student housing at the University of Victoria.
Securing Our Future: Resilience & Safety
There is a glaring lack of a real plan for the “tipping point year” of 2026:
- Economic Sovereignty: With 45 per cent softwood lumber tariffs and the 2026 CUSMA trade review looming, B.C. needs a “smart government” to protect our resource industries, not a government that watches them struggle.
- Public Safety: Despite a 60 per cent disapproval rating on crime, the government’s safety plan lacks the teeth to crush the extortion crisis facing local businesses.
British Columbians are tired of choosing between an incompetent government and an extremist alternative. CentreBC is the moderate, informed choice to put people first and get our province’s politics back on track.
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Media Contact:
Michael Davis
(604) 704-7526
[email protected]
