B.C.’s Strong Fiscal Year Bolstered By Economic Recovery

The Province's year-end Public Accounts show B.C. had a strong fiscal result last year, bolstered by a faster-than-expected economic recovery.

The Province's year-end Public Accounts show B.C. had a strong fiscal result last year, bolstered by a faster-than-expected economic recovery.

Despite what the government calls unprecedented spending to support people and businesses, B.C. ended the 2021-22 fiscal year with a $1.3-billion surplus as the province's economy outperformed both public- and private-sector forecasts.

The province says improvement from last year's forecasts can be attributed to a reopening economy where more people were able to participate, which resulted in increased taxation revenue; one-time federal contributions for COVID-19 and disaster events; higher natural resource revenues; and higher net earnings from self-supported Crown corporations.

The Liberals are accusing the NDP of sitting on the surplus rather than doling it out to support those who need it through inflation relief.