Edelman Canada shares highlights from British Columbia Finance Minister Mike de Jong’s 2017 Budget. To learn more about Edelman Canada, please visit www.edelman.ca.

1. Edelman Vancouver | 1400 – 1500 West Georgia St | Vancouver, BC V6G 2Z6 | 604 623 3007
On February 21st, B.C. Finance Minister
Mike de Jong tabled British Columbia’s
fifth consecutive balanced budget. For a
government heading to the polls on May
9th, this is a classic pre-election budget.
Budget 2017 offers broad relief to residents and small
businesses across the province in the form of tax cuts,
Medical Services Plan (MSP) cuts, and $2.1 billion in
new spending. The $50.2 billion Budget 2017 forecasts a
surplus of $295 million, down from the $1.5-billion surplus
forecast for the current fiscal year ending March 31st
.
The great challenge for the B.C. Liberal government is
to make these sweeping headlines feel like meaningful
improvements to British Columbians. Public trust is waning
across all sectors, making what politicians say or do, and
what is reported in the news, especially difficult for the
public to personally validate in their everyday lives. A
feeling of “get on with it” will be a common refrain for
those wanting to see tangible progress on expanded
hospital space, smaller class sizes, more efficient public
transit, and MSP/tax relief to ease the cost of living in the
lower mainland, specifically.
Good policy is good politics, but the public will only
believe it when the headlines become reality. We can
expect to see a time-sequenced, regionally balanced
string of announcements over the coming weeks to make
these connections. Then, we’re off to the campaign trail,
where British Columbians may see one the closest fought
provincial election campaigns in memory.
Bob Richardson
Executive Vice-President & National Practice Lead
416.849.1913 | bob.richardson@edelman.com
2017 BC BUDGET UPDATE
OUR PERSPECTIVE
HIGHLIGHTS
Hon. James Moore
Special Advisor, Public Affairs, Edelman Canada
604.648.3401 | james.moore@edelman.com
Bridgitte Anderson
General Manager, Edelman Vancouver
604.648.3403 | bridgitte.anderson@edelman.com
• Budget 2017 takes aim at cutting red tape for B.C.’s
small business sector, offering a corporate income tax
rate reduction of .5% to 2%.
• It also includes a rate reduction on electricity by
reducing the PST from 7% to 3.5% effective October 1,
2017, with a full exemption as of April 1, 2019.
• In line with the federal government’s infrastructure
focus and the Metro Vancouver Mayors’ 10 Year Plan,
Budget 2017 includes a record $24.5 billion investment
over three years in new and upgraded provincial
infrastructure projects.
• Sustainability features prominently in Budget 2017,
with $40 million proposed for B.C.’s Clean Energy
Vehicle program, and $87 million to enhance the
government’s tech strategy – a rising industry on
Canada’s west coast.
• B.C.’s Prosperity Fund, initially designed to be filled
with revenues from an LNG industry, will also receive
a $400 million boost from the 2016-17 surplus.
• With the lowest Debt-to-GDP ratio in Canada (16.1%),
B.C. holds a AAA credit rating.
• B.C. is the only province to receive the highest
mark available from Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s,
and Fitch, and continues to have one of the lowest
overall tax burdens in Canada – including income,
consumption, health care premiums and payroll taxes.
The government has increased the provincial education budget by
$740 million over three years for total school capital spending of $2 billion.
This includes $228 million more to help with enrolment growth (up to
5,200 new student spaces in Surrey), as well as seismic upgrades, funding
for rural education enhancement, student transportation, K-12 salary costs,
and an incremental $320 million over three years while a final agreement
with the B.C. Teachers’ Federation on class size and composition is concluded.
The government has also earmarked investment in infrastructure projects, with
a focus on trades education, at several Post-Secondary Institutions, including
campuses in Surrey, Kamloops, Cranbrook, Prince George, Nelson, Campbell
River, Dawson Creek, Terrace, and the Okanagan.
EDUCATION

2. Edelman Vancouver | 1400 – 1500 West Georgia St | Vancouver, BC V6G 2Z6 | 604 623 3007
2017 BC BUDGET UPDATE
HEALTH CARE
The government will be cutting Medical Services Plan (MSP) premiums
by 50% for B.C. residents with annual family net incomes up to $120,000,
effective January 1, 2018. This is a preliminary step towards eliminating MSP
premiums in the province. The average annual savings for families paying full
premiums is $900. Two million residents are expected to see their rates cut
by 50% - returning premiums to rates set in 1993.
Budget 2017 includes $2.7 billion in heath capital projects – including new
patient care towers at both Penticton Regional Hospital and the Royal Inland
Hospital in Kamloops.
An additional $45 million will be allocated to the Ministry of Children and
Family Development over three years for mental health counselling and
treatment services. To further address addiction, the government is allocating
$11 million over three years for the B.C. Centre for Substance Abuse, as well
as $12 million for an additional 28 specialized youth addiction treatment beds.
FAMILIES AND HOUSING
Budget 2017 will provide an additional $796 million over three years to
support families and children in need. This includes $199 million to fund
a $600 per year increase to income assistance rates for persons with
disabilities, as well as $20 million for provincial child care to help the
creation of up to 2,000 new spaces.
The introduction of a $250 B.C. back-to-school tax credit for parents of
school age children was announced to help with the cost of purchasing
necessary school supplies, and the interest rate on student loans will be
reduced from prime-plus-2.5 per cent, to prime, starting August, 2017.
The threshold for B.C.’s first time homebuyers’ exemption was also increased
to $500,000, saving house seekers up to $8,000 in property transfer tax.
Additionally, Budget 2017 allocates $920 million to support the creation
of over 5,300 affordable housing units, and a further $65 million towards
380 housing units to support B.C.’s homeless and those suffering from mental
health and substance use issues.
Of note: as a result of B.C.’s red-hot real estate market, the province took
in $2.025 billion in property transfer tax in 2016-17.
CHALLENGE
While British Columbia’s fiscal situation is strong, the present and pending instabilities of our global economy should
give pause to both the government and the public. Nearly 20% of B.C.’s GDP is dependent on continued access to U.S.
markets, and with President Trump’s commitment to renegotiating NAFTA, B.C. must remain vigilant about protecting
provincial interests, both in Washington, and with the federal government who will negotiate on B.C.’s behalf.
Equally, with the collapse of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), instability in the Asia Pacific region could have tangible
consequences for B.C.’s efforts to diversify market access. The post-TPP realignment, including ongoing discussions
around a potential Canada-China Free Trade Agreement, is both a challenge and an opportunity for B.C. firms, and the
B.C. government.
STAKEHOLDER REACTIONS
“British Columbia continues to lead Canada in
terms of financial management and economic
strength, giving our business community a
stable foundation on which to build”
- Greater Vancouver Board of Trade
President Iain Black.
“Budget 2017 represents this government’s
fifth consecutive balanced budget, showing
the benefits of a fiscal plan that includes
steady, solid growth and managed spending.
There’s additional funding for the programs
people rely upon and almost $1 billion left in
the pockets of British Columbians to let them
make the choices that are important to them”
– Honourable Michael de Jong,
Minister of Finance.
“This budget represents a cynical ploy by handing
out financial goodies a few months before an
election. It pretends to tackle issues that should
have been dealt with years ago”
- Andrew Weaver,
Leader of the B.C. Green Party
“Christy Clark made life worse for ordinary families.
And now that an election is coming she wants
people to forget everything. The B.C. Liberals are
using their cash surplus to make you forget there’s
a deficit in the services people care about.”
– John Horgan,
Leader of the B.C. NDP