According to this week’s fiscal update, the Eby government will record a record-setting $11.2-billion budget deficit this fiscal year (2025-26). Unfortunately, that’s only part of British Columbia’s fiscal disaster.

The Eby government also ran budget deficits in each of the last two fiscal years, including a $7.3-billion budget deficit in 2024-25—that’s larger than the $5.6-billion deficit the government ran during the height of the pandemic. And the string of red ink will only continue—in addition to this year’s deficit, the government plans to continue running annual deficits of at least $12.3 billion over the next two years.

And because the B.C. government splits its capital budget from its operating budget, this is only the tip of the iceberg. After accounting for long-term spending on capital projects (e.g. schools and highways), total projected government debt will soar to $155.1 billion in 2025-26—a 74 per cent increase during Eby’s time in........

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