Close X
Friday, September 20, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. growth forecast drops to one per cent for 2023, but deficit projection improves

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 28 Nov, 2023 04:38 PM
  • B.C. growth forecast drops to one per cent for 2023, but deficit projection improves

British Columbia's economy is forecast to grow one per cent in 2023, a drop from the 1.2 per cent predicted earlier by the Ministry of Finance.

The ministry's second quarterly report also forecasts slower economic growth for next year of 0.7 per cent.

But the budget's September deficit forecast of $6.7 billion has improved by $1.1 billion, with this year's deficit now projected at $5.6 billion.

The ministry says in a statement the province's economy is being impacted by slow growth globally and high interest rates in Canada.

It says employment growth has expanded by 1.4 per cent, while B.C.'s population grew by three per cent.

Finance Minister Katrine Conroy says people's budgets have been squeezed by global inflation, while high interest rates are making the already high cost of buying or renting a home more expensive, but the government will continue supporting people by helping to ease the pressure of everyday costs. 

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Parks Canada says whirling disease could decimate fish, respect B.C. closures

Parks Canada says whirling disease could decimate fish, respect B.C. closures
Parks Canada officials say they're closely watching lakes and rivers in Kootenay and Yoho national parks for a parasite that could "decimate" as much as 90 per cent of young trout and salmon. The first suspected case of the disease in British Columbia was found in September in Emerald Lake, in Yoho National Park, prompting the closure of the lake and other nearby waterways. 

Parks Canada says whirling disease could decimate fish, respect B.C. closures

Hundreds arrested for shoplifting in latest Vancouver police blitz

Hundreds arrested for shoplifting in latest Vancouver police blitz
A police crackdown on violent and chronic shoplifters in Vancouver has ended in 258 arrests and the recovery of almost $57,000 in stolen goods.  Vancouver police say the arrests were made during a two-week operation in September, which was co-ordinated with other Lower Mainland police departments, resulting in another 82 arrests in Delta, Langley, Richmond and Burnaby. 

Hundreds arrested for shoplifting in latest Vancouver police blitz

U.S. man lost at sea is rescued by Canadian crew west of Vancouver Island

U.S. man lost at sea is rescued by Canadian crew west of Vancouver Island
Sharp-eyed mariners on a Canadian vessel have rescued a U.S. man, one day after the United States Coast Guard ended its search for a commercial fishing boat from Washington state with two people aboard. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier says crew aboard the Canadian fish boat Ocean Sunset spotted a life-raft drifting in open ocean far west of Vancouver Island on Thursday.  

U.S. man lost at sea is rescued by Canadian crew west of Vancouver Island

At United Nations, Canada to speak about humanitarian pauses in Israel-Hamas war

At United Nations, Canada to speak about humanitarian pauses in Israel-Hamas war
Canada's ambassador to the United Nations is expected to speak later today about a UN effort to establish a temporary pause in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.  Bob Rae will take the podium on Day 2 of a special emergency session of the UN General Assembly as delegates debate a draft resolution calling for a pause in hostilities. 

At United Nations, Canada to speak about humanitarian pauses in Israel-Hamas war

Canada Border Services Agency alerts guards to look out for wanted Maine gunman

Canada Border Services Agency alerts guards to look out for wanted Maine gunman
The Canada Border Services Agency issued Thursday an "armed and dangerous" alert to officers stationed along the Canada-U.S. border, warning them to be on the lookout for the man suspected of fatally shooting 18 people in southern Maine. The shootings were reported Wednesday night in Lewiston, about 260 kilometres southwest of the New Brunswick border.

Canada Border Services Agency alerts guards to look out for wanted Maine gunman

U.S. man sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex exploitation of 3 B.C. children

U.S. man sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex exploitation of 3 B.C. children
An Oregon man has been sentenced to 20 years in a U.S. federal prison for sexually exploiting three British Columbia children. RCMP say 37-year-old Kevin McCarty of Happy Valley, Ore., used social media to stalk the children online, then coerced them into making and sharing sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves.

U.S. man sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex exploitation of 3 B.C. children