VANCOUVER — Just days after his government tabled a budget with a $13.3 billion deficit and an array of tax increases, Premier David Eby addressed the business community at an event hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.President and CEO Bridgitte Anderson grilled the BC NDP leader on a number of topics, reminding him why her organization gave the budget a "D."."I don't mind getting a D if other students in the class are also graded," Eby said, asking critics to look at the budget in the context of other province's situations. "I don't pretend to be perfect, and BC isn't perfect, but I think we're doing an ok job compared with our relevant competitors."Anderson noted that the decision to award that grade was not made lightly, and that until then, the lowest the GBVOT has ever gone in 25 years of report cards is a C-."We simply — looking at previous budgets — could not give it a C-," she said. "I think it was a fair grade.".BC budget projects $13.3B deficit for 2026-27 — largest in province's history.When asked how his government can regain the confidence of the business community, Eby said the only way is to "demonstrate success.""We've heard all kinds of complaint over the past couple years," he said, "and yet we've moved from projections of sixth place in economic growth to second. I think we can be first."Eby urged everyone to pay attention to "the indicators that you would look to," noting that, for example, BC could run the same deficits for 20 years before hitting where Ontario is now on debt."At the end of the day, I would ask to be judged on the outcomes, and we're gonna get there," he concluded..Many critics have taken aim at the government's plan to impose the provincial sales tax on more good and services. This, Anderson said, will "significantly" impact the business community..Eby defended the move, noting that "our economy is — while still resource-dependent — shifting to a service economy.""We need to recognize that in terms of revenue that we're able to generate for the province," he added..Anderson told Eby that a number of GVBOT members have expressed concern over the budget, noting that one in particular indicated they're going to relocate their company to Alberta.The premier reiterated that, when compared to other provinces, BC isn't doing all that bad, then took aim at his neighbours."Alberta is talking about moving out of the country," Eby exclaimed. "There was a speech yesterday about a referendum on an array of measures that will raise uncertainty around access to workers related to immigration."He argued that BC, on the other hand, is a "stable jurisdiction that is growing.""If the PST on the accounting bill is sufficient to move you to another province, I don't know what to say about that, except to say that it may not be — in the long term, in terms of Alberta's current trajectory — necessarily one that will support the success of business," Eby added.The premier said he's looking forward to seeing Alberta's budget, set to be tabled on February 26.
