B.C. BUDGET – ‘Taxpayers broke, unsafe and paying more for less’ says Milobar

Kamloops Centre MP Peter Milobar, the BC Conservative finance critic, today (Feb. 17, 2026) condemned the NDP government’s latest budget as the result of a decade of decline that has left British Columbians “broke, unsafe, and paying more for less.”

Finance minister Brenda Bailey, on the other hand, described it as protecting health care, education and social supports “while securing B.C.’s future through skills training and targeted investments to spur economic growth.”

However, it creates a record deficit of $13.3 billion dollars and boosts taxes and delays a number of projects. Bailey called it “serious work for serious times.”

Milobar isn’t impressed. “After 10 years of NDP mismanagement, this budget is an assault on seniors, working families, and the small businesses that drive our economy,” said Milobar. “The NDP have turned their back on the people working hardest to make ends meet and the seniors who built this province.”

Milobar pointed to a new $1.1 billion annual income tax increase and warned that the government is piling new costs onto households already struggling with affordability.

“This government keeps asking British Columbians for more, while delivering less,” Milobar said. “The question people are asking is simple: Where has all the money gone?”

Milobar noted that B.C. has gone from a surplus in the first year of NDP government to a projected deficit of more than $13 billion this year, while provincial debt is projected to reach a record $182 billion this fiscal – more than triple what it was when the NDP took power.

The 2027 budget hits working families with a $1.1 billion annual tax increase by increasing provincial income taxes on the lowest bracket and freezing the indexation of tax brackets until 2030 – a hidden hike.

The PST will be expanded to include items like landlines, cable television, and clothing repair materials.

BC Green leader Emily Cowan said, “The BC NDP has chosen the broken status quo.

“This budget raises taxes on working people, abandons $10-a-day childcare, and puts thousands of public servants out of work.”

Chris Gardner, president and CEO of the Independent Contractors and Business Association, was equally critical of the budget. “This government keeps finding new ways to make it more expensive to build. Slapping PST on engineering, architecture, and professional services isn’t clever tax policy – it’s a hidden construction tax that will show up in every project budget in this province.”

Milobar said the budget is especially punishing for small businesses that are already struggling, including a $500 million annual tax hike on professional services like accounting, bookkeeping, and private security, all of which will become subject to PST.

“Small business owners are dealing with crime and disorder in our downtowns, made worse by David Eby’s reckless decriminalization experiment. They’re paying out of pocket for increased security because law enforcement can’t keep up with the chaos.  Instead of addressing the root causes facing small businesses, the NDP is shoplifting an additional $500 million a year from them.”