What the 2023 B.C. budget means for you: 6 things to know

David Eby’s first budget as premier delivered a $4.2 billion deficit to pay for the long-promised $400 renters’ credit, free prescription contraception, new rental housing and $200 million to expand mental health and addiction services across B.C.

The 2023/24 budget, presented Tuesday by Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, also provides cash to help people with the affordability crisis amid rising inflation by boosting existing tax credits for low- and middle-income families and lifting the shelter rate for people on income and disability assistance.

“It’s just not the right time to start making cuts,” Conroy said Tuesday. “It’s not the right time to start making people pay out of pocket for services they expect.”

The NDP government’s climate plan includes steady hikes to the carbon tax over the next seven years, which it said will encourage industry to lower their emissions. That will make it more expensive to fill up your tank of gas, adding 26 cents a litre to fuel by 2030.