Eby suspends planned B.C. PST expansion and pledges locally built future ferries

Premier David Eby says his government will delay its planned expansion of the provincial sales tax and direct BC Ferries to build future vessels in British Columbia.

Speaking at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, Eby said the government is reconsidering the PST expansion in light of the trade war with the United States and the effects tariffs are beginning to have on businesses. The province first proposed in its February budget to apply PST to services including engineering and accounting. The plan was unpopular with the business community.

Eby said delaying the changes until there is clarity on Trump’s trade war would give businesses needed breathing room. Bridgitte Anderson, president of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, welcomed the pause but said the organization would continue to press for the expansion to be stopped permanently and for tax changes intended to increase investment and spur growth.

BC Ferries’ decision to build four large hybrid-electric ferries in China has drawn criticism from labour and business groups seeking the economic opportunity of major vessel construction. Eric McNeely, president of the B.C. Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union and a member of the Build Them Here coalition, said workers and the public had asked for ships to be built locally and now had a commitment. He also called for workers to be included in the process.

The announcements came as speculation about a possible snap provincial election intensified after reports that Eby had hired former chief of staff Cheryl Oates to run the next NDP provincial campaign. Eby said the NDP is “election ready” but repeatedly declined to say whether or when he would call an election.

A provincial election called before the Oct. 17 municipal elections would overlap with local election periods, an outcome local leaders want to avoid. The Union of B.C. Municipalities passed an emergency motion Thursday urging Eby to wait. President Cori Ramsay said overlapping elections would not serve the public interest and warned that only the loudest voices would be heard. Eby said the government would take the resolution under advisement.