Live updates: B.C. releases 2023 budget; minister hints at deficit

Original Story posted by The Canadian Press

Finance Minister Katrine Conroy says the 2023 B.C. budget won’t be “quite as rosy” with deficits looming in the future.

Conroy says the prospect of a multibillion-dollar surplus similar to last year’s budget is not in the forecast.

CHEK News will stream the event live around 1:30 p.m. with updates and reaction on our website.

She says that almost $6-billion surplus was an anomaly that allowed the NDP government to announce numerous spending initiatives on health, affordability, infrastructure and housing.

At a pre-budget news conference at a Victoria-area elementary school, Conroy suggested her new budget will invest in health care, public safety and communities.

Premier David Eby says budgets are about choices and the 2023 B.C. budget will reflect priorities that help people.

Eby says B.C.’s economy is one of the strongest in Canada and the government intends to continue to invest in areas that help people.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2023.

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