BC’s Spending Hits Over $14K per Person, Surpassing Previous High Set During COVID: Study

The B.C. government’s per-person spending hit the highest point ever in fiscal 2022–23, eclipsing the previous high set during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study shows. The study by the Fraser Institute, published Feb. 21, says the NDP government’s program spending in 2022–23 reached $14,275 per person. This is the highest point on record in provincial history, surpassing the previous high of $13,899 set during the pandemic in 2020–21. The study examined B.C.’s per-person spending between fiscal years 1999–2000 and 2022–23, adjusting for inflation and population using Statistics Canada data. The analysis indicated that B.C.’s per-person spending in 2022–23, the latest year of available data, was almost 20 percent higher than that in 2019–20, said the news release, noting that this was despite the end of the pandemic. Specifically, fiscal years 2020–21 and 2021–22 were significantly affected by emergency spending related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession, the report said. ...