Eby pauses B.C.’s sales tax expansion, unveils $90M in business aid for trade war

VANCOUVER — British Columbia Premier David Eby says the province is pausing a planned expansion of the provincial sales tax, introducing a $90-million support package for businesses, and directing BC Ferries to build future vessels in the province in response to the trade war with the United States.

Eby spoke to delegates at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention in Vancouver on Friday amid speculation he was poised to call a snap election as the Opposition B.C. Conservatives shed more caucus members.

The premier said the province would provide millions in support for communities and businesses impacted by U.S. tariffs, including $30 million for a renewed BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund, $30 million for technology companies and $15 million each for rural infrastructure and BuyBC programs.

Eby has previously defended the PST expansion to professional services that was set to take effect Oct. 1, even as he acknowledged it was unpopular with the business community.

But he said Friday that he reconsidered after hearing from businesses facing tariff challenges. The exemption will include accounting, bookkeeping, architectural and engineering services.

He renewed the province’s commitment to not stock or sell alcohol from the United States until there was a fair agreement in the United States for its forestry sector, a statement that earned him a standing ovation from the convention crowd.

Eby also said his government planned to open more involuntary care beds in every region for those with severe overlapping mental-health and substance use challenges, with future announcements of new beds in the Interior and on Vancouver Island.

The premier’s annual speech came days after he said he had warned Elections BC and his caucus to be “election ready” amid disruptions posed by the U.S. trade war.

Alexa Loo, a Richmond city councillor who is running for mayor, presented an emergency resolution at the conference on Thursday asking the NDP government not to call an election during the voting window for municipal elections across the province to be held Oct. 17.

“British Columbia voters deserve the opportunity and respect to have unfettered attention on local issues during municipal elections, without being overshadowed by a provincial election,” reads a draft version of the resolution shared by Loo.

The resolution also called on senior orders of government to create a legislative framework that would prevent the potential for overlapping local, provincial and federal elections.

Loo said the resolution passed almost unanimously because delegates understood that concurrent elections typically lead to lower voter turnout for local councils.

“It’s like having two conversations at the dinner table,” she said in an interview Friday.

“It’s not fair to the elected officials that are running. It’s not fair to our election staff who are working really hard to ensure a clear, fair election happens and it’s not fair to the residents who are being asked to vote to try and wade through all the information.”

Eby told the crowd during a question-and-answer session that he would consider the resolution and had “no announcement about an election.”

Loo said the resolution was about asking for respect, and Eby’s non-answer about respecting the four-week local election period was an answer in itself.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, who is running for re-election, released a statement Friday asking Eby to respect the local election period.

“What we need from Victoria isn’t an election call. We need Premier Eby and his government to move forward with the voluntary and involuntary treatment capacity this province so urgently requires. That work can’t wait, and it shouldn’t be delayed by an election,” Sim said.

Eby’s speech came a day after B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay told delegates that she wasn’t going anywhere after being asked to resign by two members of her Opposition caucus.

Findlay’s party saw further upheaval Friday with the expulsion of three legislators from caucus — former leader John Rustad, former interim leader Trevor Halford, and Skeena MLA Claire Rattée.

About an hour after Eby’s speech, a group of eight former B.C. Conservative legislators announced they were joining CentreBC, with Peter Milobar taking over as leader of the party that will become the third largest in the provincial legislature.

At the UBCM convention on Thursday, Findlay called the prospect of a snap election a “cynical move” by a premier who knew she would win a byelection being held in Abbotsford-Mission on Sept. 26.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2026.

Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press