Vaughn Palmer: Numbers contradict B.C. finance minister's optimistic tone

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeNewsLocal NewsPoliticsOpinionColumnists Vaughn Palmer: Numbers contradict B.C. finance minister's optimistic tone Opinion: An independent, public review of the Energy Ministry's 'arithmetic' error is needed. Not some internal review Author of the article: By Vaughn Palmer Published Sep 14, 2026 4 minute read Join the conversation BC Finance Minister Josie Osborne. PHOTO BY CHAD HIPOLITO /POSTMEDIA Article content VICTORIA — Finance Minister Josie Osborne attempted a positive spin in her first budget update, starting with a claim that “B.C’s economy continues to be resilient, with stable growth in the outlook.” Article content Alas for the new minister, she was contradicted by key numbers in the quarterly report that accompanied her presentation in the legislature press theatre on Monday. Article content Article content Article content February’s budget forecast a meagre 1.3 per cent rate of economic growth for the year. Turns out that was overly optimistic. Article content Sunrise Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content Osborne lowered the forecast by about a third to 0.9 per cent, which does not say “strong” and “resilient” to anyone. Article content Housing starts were down. Population down. Jobs down. Unemployment was up. Article content The only area to show really impressive growth was the deficit. Article content Osborne inherited a record deficit forecast of $13.3 billion from her predecessor, Brenda Bailey. Monday, she increased it to $13.8 billion. Article content As NDP finance ministers are wont to do, Osborne noted in passing that the budget included $5 billion in unspent contingency funds. It is the NDP way of holding out the hope that the unspent portion might be used to reduce the deficit at the end of the year. Article content Except the New Democrats treat contingency funds like giant blank cheques, to spend as they see fit on topping up existing programs and creating new ones. Article content Last year’s budget included $4 billion for contingencies and the government spent 85 per cent of it. Only a small fraction was spent responding to genuine emergencies like wildfires and floods. Article content Article…