The NDP government says Province's year-end Public Accounts show BC had a strong fiscal result last year, bolstered by a faster-than-expected economic recovery as government made record investments to support British Columbians. Despite 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.

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff

VICTORIA – The NDP government says Province's year-end Public Accounts show BC had a strong fiscal result last year, bolstered by a faster-than-expected economic recovery as government made record investments to support British Columbians.

Despite 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.

"Last year was an incredibly challenging year for British Columbians with the pandemic, coupled with devastating climate disasters," said Selina Robinson, Minister of Finance. "Through the challenges we've faced together, we've made record investments to ensure targeted supports were available to those who needed them most and to continue building the services and infrastructure people count on."

The 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.

"These numbers show that the actions taken by British Columbians to protect each other and that our unprecedented investments to support people were the right decisions," said Robinson. "While others might have chosen cuts and austerity, our investments in people have helped our economy rebound faster than anyone in the public or private sector predicted. Looking ahead, the Province will keep using this economic strength to support British Columbians, including bringing in new measures in September to help those who are struggling the most with global inflation."

The budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year was prepared during the first winter of the pandemic, at a time when COVID-19 vaccines were not yet widely available, gatherings were limited and restaurants were closing. The BC Vaccine Card was nine months away and conversations about global inflation had not yet begun.

Spending to support people increased by $3.5 billion over the record levels from fiscal year 2020-21, as government continued to make investments in people, businesses and communities to help ensure a strong, people-first economic recovery.

Public Accounts for the previous fiscal year are a vital part of ensuring transparency and accountability within government's finances. The next report on provincial finances will be the first quarterly report in September.