August 8, 2025
RED FM News Desk
British Columbia’s debt has surged by 50% in two years, reaching $133 billion. Premier David Eby inherited an $89 billion debt from John Horgan and has since seen it increase by $44 billion.
Finance Minister Brenda Bailey released B.C.’s Public Accounts on Thursday, confirming that Premier David Eby has increased the provincial debt by nearly 50% in his first two years in office.
The Finance Minister attempted to deflect attention from the debt, highlighting that the operating deficit for the 2024-25 fiscal year was smaller than what was initially projected when the budget was introduced in February 2024. However, the $7.3 billion deficit was still a record, surpassing the previous high of $5.6 billion set during a financially difficult year of the COVID pandemic.
The B.C. Conservatives’ opposition party stated that the release of the Public Accounts confirms what British Columbians already know: that David Eby’s NDP government is increasing debt to record levels while providing the worst public services in a generation.
Peter Milobar, the opposition’s finance critic and Conservative MLA for Kamloops Centre, said, “When David Eby became Premier, B.C. had a nearly $6 billion surplus. Just two years later, the NDP has squandered it all and saddled taxpayers with a $24.5 billion operating debt, and counting.” He continued, “This year alone, the NDP added $15.78 billion in new operating debt – and what did British Columbians get in return? ERs are still closing, schools are crumbling, and ferries can’t run on time.”
He added that the Public Accounts show the total provincial debt has risen to $133.9 billion, which is a $26.4 billion increase in a single year. This is a $10.6 billion increase from the debt that the government had originally budgeted.
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