B.C. cancels $1,000 grocery rebate over

B.C. cancels $1,000 grocery rebate over tariff threats, as opposition Conservatives accuse Eby of deceit

Feb 13, 2025 | 1:25 PM

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s finance minister says the government is cancelling the $1,000 grocery rebate it promised during the election and will pause government hiring over U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs.

Brenda Bailey says the impacts of the “reckless” and “destabilizing” tariffs are impossible to predict.

The B.C. Conservative Party, the official opposition in the B.C. legislature, accused Premier David Eby of deceiving voters.

“We called it. David Eby lied to the voters, promising $1,000 for everyone right away. Now he says it won’t happen,” the party wrote on X/Twitter Thursday. “He even mocked our plan to allow British Columbians to write off their rent and mortgage, saving them thousands. He called it ‘the Rustad long wait,’ and clutched his pearls over the need for immediate relief. Now that he’s in power and he’s given all his MLAs a pay raise, he’s going to give you nothing. David Eby and the BC NDP don’t care about British Columbians—they will happily lie to you, while stuffing their own pockets. We need change.”

The B.C. New Democrats released a costed platform during the election in October that projected a budget deficit for next year to rise to $9.6 billion from the original $6.7 billion forecast, as revenue was expected to fall by more than $1.5 billion due to a number of promises and proposals.

Those include pledges of a $1,000-per-household grocery rebate next year, free off-peak transit for seniors and a middle-class provincial income tax cut of about $1,000 per household starting in 2026.

The Canadian Press.

Fraser Valley Today reporter Mike Vanden Bosch contributed to this story.

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