Nothing New for Manufacturers In BC Budget

VICTORIA (March 4, 2025) 

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) is concerned by the lack of support for manufacturing in the new BC Budget.

“There is nothing new for manufacturing in this budget,” said Andrew Wynn-Williams, Divisional Vice-President of CME, “This is disappointing for manufacturers, given the new US tariffs and the renewed commitment to economic growth made by government following the tight fall election.”

Even before the tariff threat, CME was concerned that the high cost of manufacturing in BC had led to a decline in the province’s manufacturing industry. The industry has struggled to remain competitive in the face of high taxes, burdensome regulations, supply chain costs, inflationary pressures and other issues. The new tariffs magnify this challenge immensely and CME had hoped this crisis would lead to more positive measures to support investment and competitiveness in our manufacturing space. No such measures are included in the budget.

CME is supportive of tariff mitigation measures that government is promoting but is concerned by the lack of budget commitment to some of these measures. Committing to procuring BC and Canadian products for government, increasing assistance to manufacturers to pivot for new markets, and promoting and branding BC made goods are all strong ideas, but there is no apparent funding allocation for such measures.

“We can only hope that the contingency fund designated for tariff response will provide more positive and direct support for the manufacturing industry,” said Mr. Wynn-Williams.

Quick facts

• The manufacturing sector represents almost 5.7% of BC’s gross domestic product and 53% of annual exports.
• Manufacturers directly support 171,000 jobs in BC with an average wage of $1282/week (5.7% above provincial average)
• The total manufacturing sales in 2023 surpassed $65.4B.