A day after B.C.’s NDP government scrapped a tax rebate that was a signature plank in the party’s election campaign, Premier David Eby is defending the decision.
With the B.C. budget just weeks away, Finance Minister Brenda Bailey announced Thursday that the $500 per person/$1,000 per household tax rebate was being put on hold amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s evolving tariff threats.
Speaking with Global’s Focus BC on Friday, Eby said the rebate was proposed when B.C. appeared to be emerging from a period of high inflation and low consumer confidence.
“Now what we are seeing is because of the tariff threats, we have businesses making decisions, ‘Well we are not going to expand right now we are going to wait and see what happens,’” he said.
“All of that has knock-on effects, it’s been priced in by economists who do projections for us.”
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Eby said the province was shifting to a “back to basics” mentality, with a focus on core services such as health care and education, and to preparing for the trade dispute by diversifying markets and fast-tracking major projects.
The comments come a day after Eby returned from a trip with premiers from across the country to Washington, D.C., holding face-to-face meetings with U.S. officials.
Eby said Republicans he spoke with warned him to take Trump’s comments seriously, whether they be tariff-related or his recent fixation on annexing Canada.
“They said things like, well, all of this could go away if Canada becomes the 51st state,” Eby said.
“I take the threat very seriously and what is clear is we can’t rely on the United States.”
Next Thursday, B.C. MLAs will return to the legislature for the first time since last fall’s provincial election, where the 2025 speech from the throne will lay out the government’s agenda for the year to come.
It’s an agenda that has been heavily affected by a United States that has gone from being Canada’s closest ally and trading partner to a genuine, if unpredictable, threat.
The NDP government is expected to introduce new legislation aimed at non-tariff retaliation, such as added charges on U.S. companies, along with legal changes to speed up project approval and attempts to break down interprovincial trade barriers.
“It is bizarre to think it is easier to trade with Washington state than it is Ontario and we are working with other provinces and maybe something in legislation,” Eby said.
The NDP is scheduled to unveil the 2025 budget on March 4, one day before Trump’s next threatened deadline to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods.
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