B.C. BUDGET – ‘Taxpayers broke, unsafe and paying more for less’ says Milobar
Finance Minister Brenda Bailey. (Image: BC Govt via flickr.)
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.”
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Everyone else: it’s time to tighten the belt and watch our spending. It’s important that we reign in spending. It’s a time of sacrifice.
Kamloops Council: it’s time to spend and borrow like never before. It’s a time of sacrifice for taxpayer wallets.
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So no money for the “root causes” nor for the red bridge replacement nor for any more frivolous ideas from council.
Fiscal discipline should be taught in schools from grade one onwards.
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This budget is fiscally weak and unfair to taxpayers. Yes, its COVID hangover, wildfires, tariffs, federal cuts but a $13.3B record deficit and debt tripling to $182B since the NDP took over in 2017 isn’t “serious work”. This is continuing the decade-long spending binge. Revenue only grows $500M while spending jumps $4B; tax hikes with lowest bracket up to 5.6%, PST slapped on professional services, landlines, cable, repairs $1.1B+ hit, including $500M on small biz accounting/security/engineering) make affordability worse and raise construction costs.
The 15K public service cuts over 3 years and project delays are the only real restraint hitting bureaucracy. Let’s see who gets hit. However, health/education stay untouched as it is already in shambles, maybe not their fault but they should have prioritized the future. Low-income housing wasn’t aggressively trimmed while senior facilities were. Shameful almost as bad as Campbell/Christy Clark years of falsehoods, boondoggles and scandals.
Freezing tax bracket indexation until 2030 is sneaky bracket creep. Protecting core services sounds nice, but piling costs on working families and small businesses while ignoring root problems crime, housing, productivity just kicks below the belt. External shocks aren’t new excuses after 10 years in power We needs deeper efficiency, not more extraction.
Let’s be fair here, what will the others do who are in disarray and fragmented. What we need from them not more slamming daily in the legislature as “decade of decline,” w need to demand a credible plan to balance the budget, cut deeper waste, restore fiscal discipline, prioritize affordability, safe streets, and small business relief. Milobar, a leadership contender, will use it to campaign hard: “back to basics.” No votes to stop it, but it’ll fuel their 2028 pitch as the responsible alternative.
BC Greens, Cowan with tiny caucus and NDP cooperation fraying, unfortunetly its mostly noise asking for more from an empty pot.
The real “disarray” groups small biz, seniors, cut public servants, struggling families will lobby unions to shield frontline jobs. Contractors and bussiness will complain louder, pass costs on, or delay projects and the voters will remember this at the ballot box.
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