Sonia Furstenau

British Columbia's New Democrat government says it plans to put this year's projected budget surplus of almost $6 billion to work helping families and businesses as an economic slowdown looms and extra dollars are expected to dry up.

A refreshed housing plan and health care, public safety, environment and cost-of-living initiatives will be the focus of the British Columbia New Democrat government's political agenda over the coming months, says house leader Ravi Kahlon.

British Columbia's incoming premier says he will lead a government push to transform Vancouver's Downtown Eastside from a neighbourhood of desperation into one that's healthy and safe.

British Columbia Premier John Horgan says he'll resign as leader in the fall after the New Democrats hold a leadership convention because a second bout with cancer has left him with little energy for a job that's been the thrill of his life.

A plan to tear down and replace British Columbia's provincial museum was put on hold indefinitely on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, by Premier John Horgan who admitted he miscalculated public support for the $789 million project.

British Columbia has earmarked $2.1 billion to fund disaster recovery efforts and future response to the threats posed by wildfires, floods and heat waves in a budget that forecasts a $5.5−billion deficit.

Horgan's comments came Tuesday as some provinces announced plans to remove many COVID-19 restrictions, including Saskatchewan, which is dropping its vaccine passports and won't renew its indoor mask mandate, while many of Quebec's restrictions will be gradually removed by March 14.

The move means the BC Oil and Gas Commission will have the power to exempt “permit holders from requirements of the Dormancy and Shutdown Regulation in circumstances that merit it.”

Reaction to the B.C. budget from clean energy think tanks and environmental groups in the province has ranged from, at best, tepid to, at worst, scathing.

Green officials said they’ve never seen polling numbers like the ones they’re seeing in certain core Toronto seats. 

The cost of British Columbia's Site C hydroelectric dam has grown by $6 billion, bringing the price tag of the megaproject to $16 billion and stretching the completion date to 2025.

Racist comments directed towards a British Columbia Indigenous community fighting a COVID-19 outbreak were denounced on Wednesday, January 13, 2021, by federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller.

Premier John Horgan says economic recovery and health-care changes are the British Columbia government's top priorities for 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic tested people individually and the resilience of the province.

The BC NDP has offered qualified support for LNG development, saying that any such effort must fit into the provincial climate plan, while BC Greens say the province must stop building fossil fuel infrastructure.