Mayor of Victoria, Marianne Alto released the following statement about the B.C. Budget 2025:
“The financial reality in British Columbia, and across Canada, has changed dramatically since January and continues to change each day. Monday’s news about American tariffs has shifted the conversation about tariffs from theory to a stark truth. The U.S. government has decided Canada is no longer an ally.
This new reality is reflected strongly in this year’s provincial budget. I want to reiterate calls from the Minister of Finance, the Prime Minister, the Premier and mayors from across the country, to condemn the U.S. Administration’s implementation of 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports. Canadians must come together, support local, and collaborate with all levels of government to find solutions. Canadians are strong and resilient, and we will draw on that resilience in the coming months to face these challenges.
This year’s B.C. budget – reflecting those challenges – is a case of ‘hoping for the best, planning for the worst, and preparing to be surprised.’
I am pleased to see the province continue to invest in key service areas like healthcare, infrastructure, jobs, and businesses, as well as rental supports for families and seniors, and a $500 million investment towards addictions treatment. Additionally, I applaud a commitment to invest $325 million dollars over three years to support safer communities.
This investment includes a focus on funding for justice and safety programs, and a new program to address vandalism and property crime, among other community safety commitments, and reflects municipal priorities. The Province are key partners in this work.
These are promising investments, and I will be watching closely to see how these programs are implemented and acted on, and how the City can collaborate, in the coming weeks and months. I am concerned about the budget’s commitments to address homelessness. While there is increased funding dedicated to HEART and HEARTH agreements, I am not confident that the allocated funding is enough or adequate.
I am uneasy with the apparent de-coupling of community safety from wellbeing. We must continue to invest in upstream and wellbeing focused interventions to address our ongoing community safety concerns.
Our residents have told Council that we must do all that we can to address housing availability and affordability, rising cost of living, and community safety and wellbeing concerns. While this provincial budget does deliver on a few key initiatives, I will continue to advocate for more supports for local governments to help us use every tool at our disposal to deliver on the needs of Victorians.”
Media Contact:
Colleen Mycroft
Manager, Intergovernmental and Media Relations
250.896.5325 | cmycroft@victoria.ca