February 17, 2026:  Victoria, BC — Today, the provincial government released BC Budget 2026, outlining its fiscal plan and spending priorities for the coming year. The Langley Chamber attended the budget lock-up in Victoria in person, receiving an early, detailed look at the budget and a briefing directly from government officials so we can provide timely analysis and context for Langley businesses.

The $98.8 billion provincial budget projects another record-setting deficit of $13.3 billion, despite the government’s efforts at public sector labour reductions and despite increases to personal income taxes and expanding the PST to apply to professional services.   The budget does makes wise policy decisions around tax credits for manufacturing and processing investments, increased trades training funding, and efforts to address chronic repeat property crime, which the Chamber welcomes.

“We needed this budget to improve competitiveness, get our deficit spending under control, and strengthen the foundations for long-term growth by making it easier for businesses – both big and small – to be successful in this province, and unfortunately today didn’t get us very far down that road.”. -  Cory Redekop, CEO, Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce

Read below the Langley Chamber’s initial review of the most relevant announcements and what this budget means for employers and the broader economy:

Budget Balance and Deficit

Budget 2026 forecasts a deficit of $13.3 billion for the coming 2026-27 year, and projects further deficits of $12.2 billion in 2027-28 and $11.4 billion in 2028-29, for a combined total of $36.9 billion over the 3 year plan, raising continued concern about our long-term fiscal sustainability.  This is particularly concerning given this record deficit is despite government’s efforts at public sector labour reductions and new income tax and PST increases.

The Langley Chamber remains concerned that deficits at this scale reduce government flexibility to respond to future economic shocks, while increasing the likelihood of future tax increases or added cost burdens on employers.

Tax Measures – Expanding PST and Increasing Income Tax

Two significant tax changes are being implemented in this budget which will impact Langley businesses and business owners:

Expanding PST to Professional Services

First, as of October 1, 2026, PST (provincial sales tax) will need to be charged on professional services including accounting and bookkeeping services, architectural services, engineering and geoscience services, rental property and strata management services, security and private investigation services, and commissions from buying/selling non-residential real estate.

Langley businesses providing these services will need to register to collect the PST and remit it starting on October 1, representing a new administrative burden, and their services will now be 7% more expensive to their clients as a result.  The Langley Chamber will ensure our members have the information needed to navigate this change, which is projected to generate over $500 million annually in tax revenue.

Increasing Income Tax Rates

In addition, the government is increasing the base personal income tax rate from 5.06% to 5.60%, effective for the 2026 tax year.  This increased rate will apply to the first $50,363 of income and will see the average taxpayer paying an additional $76, while individuals earning more than $140,000 per year will pay $201 more in tax.   This increase is expected to generate $476 million in increased taxes in the first year.

Beyond this increase, the government will also stop indexing the income tax brackets from 2027 through 2030, meaning more income will be taxed as wage increases accumulate. This move will impact higher income earners more, and will generate $309 million in taxes in 2027-28, rising to nearly $600 million in 2028-29.

Business Measures: Manufacturing Tax Credit, Skills Training, Property Crime

Budget 2026 arrives at a time when BC’s private-sector growth has faced clear challenges. Employers continue to deal with rising operating costs, ongoing labour shortages, and uncertainty.   Budget 2026 includes, among others, the following business-related measures that the Langley Chamber took note of:

Refundable Tax Credit for Manufacturing and Processing Investments

The budget contains a 15% refundable tax credit for businesses that make investments into machines, buildings, or equipment used in manufacturing and processing efforts.  The new tax credit will be 15% of eligible investments up to $2 million, for a maximum credit of $300,000.   The new credit will be available for investments made on or after April 1, 2026 until March 31, 2031.  Starting April 1, 2031, the tax credit phases out until it ends after March 31, 2036.  This credit is available to Canadian controlled private corporations only.

Increasing Skills Training

Budget 2026 includes $283 million in funding to support skills training in BC, including  $241 million to double skilled trades funding over the next 3 years.  Importantly, this will focus first on increasing the per-seat funding, before then increasing the number of seats, providing training providers with more resources to recruit instructors and deliver proper training.

Community Safety and Property Crime

$139 million for community safety initiatives, including $16 million specifically for a Chronic Property Offending Intervention Initiative to focus on property crime and vandalism, something the Langley Chamber regularly advocates to government on.    We welcome this attention to the type of grinding property crime retail businesses across BC struggle against.

Reducing the Public Service

In Budget 2026, the government commits to reducing the public sector workforce by 15,000 full-time-equivalent employees (FTEs) over the next 3 years. 

The public sector has grown significantly faster over the past 5 years and its historic average, and has wildly outpaced private sector job growth.   The government has added at least 80,000 employees across its ministries,  crown corporations, health authorities and other agencies/bodies since the pandemic alone, inflating the public service to hundreds of thousands of workers.

The Langley Chamber welcomes this focus on the size of the public sector, but the government will likely need to look for greater reductions than it has proposed, which it seeks to aim through attrition and early retirements as opposed to a deeper, more critical review of its scope.

Debt and Interest Costs

As a result of continued deficits, BC’s taxpayer-supported debt is projected to grow from $154 billion now to over $235 billion by 2029.
Concerningly, the interest bite -- the portion of government revenue going to interest payments on the debt -- rises from 4.9 cents on the dollar now to 6.2, then 7.3, and finally 8.2 cents out of every dollar in 2028-29.   
The Chamber is concerned that rising interest costs reduce government’s ability to invest in core priorities and may crowd out future funding for infrastructure, housing, and economic development. 

Infrastructure Investments and Langley Priorities

To help mitigate rapidly escalating capital costs, the government is moving to adjust the schedule and sequence of several major projects, but this does not directly impact any Langley projects.   

Budget 2026 continues funding for Langley priorities like Surrey-Langley SkyTrain and the Fraser Valley Highway 1 Corridor Improvement Program, which includes widening highway one from 264^th through to Highway 11.

Economic Outlook and GDP Growth

The budget projects that BC’s economy will grow by:
GDP 2026: 1.3%
GDP 2027: 1.8%
GDP 2028: 1.9%

These projections reflect modest growth that remains below historical averages. The Langley Chamber continues to emphasize that economic growth is not just a fiscal issue — it directly impacts affordability, wages, job creation, and the ability of government to fund health care,
education, and public safety.

The Chamber believes British Columbia must focus on improving productivity, encouraging private investment, and expanding the sectors that generate sustainable economic activity.

More Information

For more information on Budget 2026, visit the BC Budget page >