To spend or to cut? How finances factor into the B.C. election [Video]

B.C.’s provincial finances have gone from stable surpluses to deep deficits, and leaders contesting the upcoming election are debating whether the next government should keep spending or seek austerity.

In the latest fiscal update, the province’s deficit for the current fiscal year had grown by $1.1 billion to $8.979 billion since the 2024-2025 budget was tabled, the highest ever in the province.

Total provincial debt is projected to be $128.6 billion by the end of the fiscal year.

It’s created a wedge among political parties vying to form the next government over appropriate revenues and expenditures for much needed services such as health care and infrastructure like schools, transit and roads.

B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad says despite moving the province away from budgets defined by moderate spending tied to inflation and population growth, the B.C. NDP’s spending is out of control without the results to justify it.

“When you look across this …