BC Prosperity

British Columbia Premiers and Provincial Government Spending

— Feb 14, 2023

British Columbia Premiers and Provincial Government Spending is a new study that reviews annual per-person program spending (inflation-adjusted) by British Columbia premiers from 1965 to 2021, and finds that the highest single year of per-person spending on record was under Premier John Horgan in 2021, even excluding COVID-related spending.

Measuring British Columbia’s Prosperity Gap

— Jan 31, 2023

Measuring British Columbia’s Prosperity Gap finds that, among eight peer jurisdictions (including Alberta and Washington State), B.C. in 2019 had the lowest median employment income, a key indicator of economic well-being.

The End of Spending Restraint in British Columbia

— Jan 4, 2023

The End of Spending Restraint in British Columbia finds that after a long period of relative spending restraint, the B.C. government significantly increased spending—even before any COVID-related spending began.

British Columbia's Growing Tax Competitiveness Problem

— Nov 1, 2022

BC's Tax Competitiveness Problem is Growing over Time is a new study that finds British Columbia now has the 4th highest top Personal Income Tax (PIT) rate in Canada or the United States at 53.5 per cent—only 1.3 per cent lower than Newfoundland and Labrador, the highest rated jurisdiction in both the US and Canada.

Report Card on British Columbia's Elementary Schools 2021

— Sep 27, 2022

The Report Card on British Columbia’s Elementary Schools 2021, which ranks 927 public and independent elementary schools based on 10 academic indicators derived from the provincewide Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA), suggests that every school is capable of improvement regardless of type, location and student characteristics.

Visit our interactive school ranking website

Comparing per-Person Spending and Revenue in Metro Vancouver, 2009–2019

— Aug 11, 2022

Comparing Per Person Spending and Revenue in Metro Vancouver, 2009-2019 is a new study that finds per-person spending has increased across all 17 Metro Vancouver municipalities by 15.2 per cent between 2009 and 2019, after accounting for inflation. Not surprisingly, there is a connection between high spending municipalities and high tax municipalities, as West Vancouver, the highest spending municipality, was also the 2nd highest taxed municipality in 2019, and New Westminster and the City of Vancouver also ranked highly in both spending per person and per person revenues.