VICTORIA, B.C.: Today’s ruling on Donald Trump’s tariffs is welcome news for British Columbians. Yet the President’s threat to implement a 10 per cent global tariff increases uncertainty for British Columbia’s job creators.

“British Columbians understand there’s uncertainty in the world, including real trade and tariff risks coming out of the U.S.,” said B.C. Conservative Interim Leader Trevor Halford, “but the NDP can’t keep using global turmoil and Donald Trump as a blanket excuse for deficits that are driven by their own habit of irresponsible spending. B.C. needs a plan for growth, they don’t need the same tired excuses from this NDP government.”

The Eby government is allergic to accountability and likes to lay blame at the feet of everyone but themselves for the fiscal disaster they have created.

However, Budget 2026 confirms the Eby NDP is out of excuses and out of ideas: deficits are growing, taxes are rising, and British Columbians still haven’t been given a credible plan to grow the economy.

This week, the Globe and Mail editorial board said the government’s claim that our distressing fiscal position is the result of global turmoil “ranges from disingenuity to outright fiction”.

“The reality is that tariffs, trade disputes, and global uncertainty can hit B.C. businesses quickly, and they need a provincial government that’s prepared,” said Gavin Dew, MLA for Kelowna-Mission and Critic for Jobs, Economic Development, Innovation. “Job creators can’t plan, invest, or hire on excuses. They need a credible economic plan from their government that strengthens B.C.’s competitiveness, backs investment, and protects paycheques when the world gets unpredictable.”

Tariff uncertainty is exactly why B.C. should be building resilience at home. That means a real plan to grow the economy, that restores competitiveness, get projects built, supports exporters and manufacturers, and that gives restoring competitiveness, getting projects approved faster, supporting exporters and manufacturers, and gives job creators confidence to invest in British Columbia.

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Media Contact:
Francesca Guetchev, Press Secretary
Francesca.Guetchev@leg.bc.ca
+1 (672) 922-0948