On March 4, 2025, British Columbia’s Finance Minister presented the 2025 Budget, which promises to focus on health, education and social development with $7.7 billion earmarked over three years to support health, education and social services. This memo highlights items that may be of interest to plan administrators, employers, and members.

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Notes on the BC Budget (PDF)

Health Care

Budget 2025 includes $4.2 billion over three years to be invested in the health care system. This includes more than $870 million towards the opening and operation of new facilities across the province including in Vancouver, New Westminster, Terrace, and Kamloops. The budget also provides $15.5 billion over three years to build and upgrade acute care, long-term care and cancer care centres.

Mental Health

Budget 2025 provides $500 million in new funding over three years to support existing addiction treatment and recovery programs throughout the province, including supports for children and youth, Indigenous-led treatment, recovery and aftercare services.

K-12 Education

The budget provides $4.6 billion over three years to build, renovate, and seismically upgrade schools. Major projects include prefabricated classrooms that will create 6,485 new seats across 16 school districts, a new secondary school in Langley and an elementary school in Olympic Village in Vancouver. The budget also provides $370 million over three years to the Classroom Enhancement Fund with a commitment to hire more teachers and support the children with special needs with funding for special education teachers, teacher psychologists and counsellors.

Post-Secondary Education

Budget 2025 maintains current post-secondary budget levels with $4.7 billion in capital funding over the fiscal plan for post-secondary institutions. Major projects include the construction of the Centre for Clean Energy and Automotive Innovation at Vancouver Community College; the West Shore Learning Centre Campus for Royal Roads University in Langford; the Centre for Food, Wine and Tourism at Okanagan College in Kelowna; and the interim space for the new medical school at Simon Fraser University in Surrey.

Youth with Support Needs

Budget 2025 provides an additional $172 million over three years to maintain previously announced commitments to children and youth with an autism diagnosis and families requiring medical benefits for children with severe disability or complex health care needs. The funding will expand coverage to 2,700 more children and youth, for an estimated total of nearly 30,400 in 2025-26.

Income, Disability and Supplementary Assistance

The budget provides $1.6 billion more over three years for approximately 253,000 people receiving assistance, including financial, counselling and health supports, as well as transportation and crisis supplements.

B.C. Family Benefit for Grieving Families

Effective January 1, 2025, the B.C. Family Benefit (BCFB) was amended to continue payments for six months following a child’s death.

Rental Assistance Programs

Budget 2025 raises the before-tax household income threshold for the Rental Assistance Program from $40,000 to $60,000. The average monthly supplement families receive will increase from $400 to $700. The Rental Assistance Program is for working families who have at least one dependent child.

The budget also increases the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER) program’s income threshold from $37,240 to $40,000. The average supplement seniors receive will increase from $261 to $337 per month. This program is for eligible BC residents who are age 60 or over.

ICBC Rebate

Budget 2025 provides a one-time relief rebate of $110 to personal and commercial policy holders.

Training Tax Credit for Apprentices

Budget 2025 proposes to extend the training tax credit for apprentices by three years to December 31, 2028.

Budget 2025 also proposes to continue the $500 enhanced tax credit for eligible First Nations individuals or persons with a disability who complete level 1 or 2 of an eligible Red Seal program after the federal Apprenticeship Incentive Grant expires on March 31, 2025.

New Speculation and Vacancy Tax Rates

Effective January 1, 2026, the speculation and vacancy tax rate will increase:

• from 0.5% to 1% of the property’s assessed value for Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are not untaxed worldwide earners.
• from 2% to 3% of the property’s assessed value for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners.

The non-refundable speculation and vacancy tax credit for residents of B.C. also increases from $2,000 to $4,000.