Marc Lee

Coloured Cards with the letters B-U-D-G-E-T held by clothespins on a horizontal rope line. Credit: Marco Vetch https://foto.wuestenigel.com/budget-text-hanging-on-the-rope/

Saturday | 10:05 PT Economist Marc Lee joins us to talk about the British Columbia government’s budget for 2026 and projected spending for the next 3 years. @marclee.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca @alonghurst.bsky.social #BCpoli

I weep for the French language tonight

ICYMI: “A budget that managed to alienate everybody,” said @marclee.bsky.social, a senior economist with @policyalternatives.ca , who laughed as he summed up the vibe among stakeholders who attended the budget announcement in Victoria." #bcBudget2026 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

B.C. Budget: Finance minister delivers a sea of red ink and tax increases This year's budget has over $4 billion in tax increases as well as 15,000 job cuts to public service and a projected $13.3 billion deficit

ICYMI: "Economists like @marclee.bsky.social of @policyalternatives.ca also criticized the tax measures for disproportionately affecting working people." #bcBudget2026 vancouversun.com/news/bc-budg...

Thanks, Karen!

Please cite some examples of goods and services that currently fail that test

B.C. budget’s hidden austerity and tax increases put fiscal burden on low-income households - CCPA BC's Finance Minister says "this is not an austerity budget." Let's look at the numbers and see for ourselves.

My and Andrew Longhurst's review of BC budget 2026, the budget that pissed off everyone! Mostly, I think the hysteria about deficits and debt is way overblown and I'm disappointed the government got captured by that narrative.

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

ANALYSIS | Once again, B.C. NDP frames budget as a ‘balance,’ but this time with more red ink | CBC News Some B.C. budgets have big spending announcements, tax cuts, or bold new directions that inspire excited press releases from different partisans or stakeholders. The 2026 budget wasn't one of them.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... “A budget that managed to alienate everybody” @marclee.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca

A B.C. budget few like, with job cuts, higher taxes and increased debt and deficit "They definitely seemed to manage to piss off everybody," said Marc Lee, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, of Tuesday's B.C. budget.

"They definitely seemed to manage to piss off everybody," said @marclee.bsky.social, senior economist with @policyalternatives.ca, of Tuesday's B.C. budget.

www.timescolonist.com/local-news/a...

B.C. raises income taxes and expands sales tax to address ballooning debt | CBC News In an effort to curb a ballooning provincial debt, B.C.’s 2026 budget announced significant changes to the tax system, with increases to income taxes and modifications to sales and property taxes.

“I think we could have asked the wealthiest British Columbians to contribute more, because we’re not all in the same boat.” www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... @marclee.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca

B.C. budget’s hidden austerity and tax increases put fiscal burden on low-income households - CCPA BC's Finance Minister says "this is not an austerity budget." Let's look at the numbers and see for ourselves.

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘Public services in general are an investment in people and a wealthy society like BC needs more of the care economy and less digital baubles. A lot of other infrastructure spending supports households and large and small businesses.’ @policyalternatives.ca

B.C. budget’s hidden austerity and tax increases put fiscal burden on low-income households - CCPA BC's Finance Minister says "this is not an austerity budget." Let's look at the numbers and see for ourselves.

BC's Finance Minister says "this is not an austerity budget." Let's look at the numbers and see for ourselves.
By @marclee.bsky.social and @alonghurst.bsky.social
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

BC residents have shrinking access to family doctors, despite more doctors - CCPA Primary care access is declining in BC. With a new provincial budget on the way, how has spending on doctors affected it?

I'll be in #BCpoli Budget 2026 lock-up with @marclee.bsky.social

I'll be watching all things health care, including primary care

BC is spending big on its new family doc model, but it's not delivering

Will we see a pivot to Community Health Centres?

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

BC Hydro’s draft Integrated Resources Plan and the future of energy policy in BC - CCPA The utility’s plan fails to address large new sources of demand and broader climate goals

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'A planning document that does not plan for BC meeting its legislated GHG targets is not a complete plan. A truly integrated approach to BC electricity is needed given multiple objectives & potentially large affordability impacts' @policyalternatives.ca

BC Hydro’s draft Integrated Resources Plan and the future of energy policy in BC - CCPA The utility’s plan fails to address large new sources of demand and broader climate goals

BC Hydro's plan fails to address large new sources of demand and broader climate goals️. By @marclee.bsky.social #bcpoli @policyalternatives.ca
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

B.C. throne speech dedicated to victims, community of Tumbler Ridge British Columbia Lt.-Gov. Wendy Cocchia opened a new session of the legislature on Thursday with a speech from the throne dedicated to the people of Tumbler Ridge, saying that they are 'suffering unim...

Instead of a typical BC throne speech, it was dedicated to the victims of the Tumbler Ridge shooting

The BC budget drops Tuesday

I’ll be in the budget lock up with @marclee.bsky.social

We’ll have complete budget analysis, including health care and social spending

www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

BC Hydro’s draft Integrated Resources Plan and the future of energy policy in BC - CCPA The utility’s plan fails to address large new sources of demand and broader climate goals

New from me: a deeper dive into BC Hydro's draft Integrated Resources Plan. The IRP fails to consider how it would meet the immense new demand pressure from LNG, mining and AI/data centres. And climate action is an afterthought.

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

Why Does Vancouver Want a Global Defence Bank? | The Tyee Local business leaders promote Vancouver’s connections to Asia, but critics warn Canada could end up boosting the ‘war economy.’

Economist @marclee.bsky.social is skeptical that Vancouver — or Canada — will get the bank.
“...It looks to me like a government that’s just completely devoid of any vision of what to do around the economy and it’s just grasping at straws.” @policyalternatives.ca #bcpoli thetyee.ca/News/2026/02...

Seniors’ care needs a boost in the BC budget - CCPA Private-pay long-term care in BC is growing faster than public care—and it's costing seniors and their families

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'the lack of planned investment in seniors’ care is a serious problem. If the provincial govt has no plans to sufficiently address increasing demand for public care, how are these gaps being filled?' @policyalternatives.ca @alonghurst.bsky.social

BC residents have shrinking access to family doctors, despite more doctors - CCPA Primary care access is declining in BC. With a new provincial budget on the way, how has spending on doctors affected it?

I'm so excited to welcome my BC-based colleague, Andy Longhurst, to the CCPA as our new health care researcher. Just in time for next week's BC Budget, Andy looks at the big raise we gave to physicians and how it's impacting the system.

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

Those big GDP numbers about interprovincial trade barriers are wrong - CCPA A lot of public discourse in Canada right now is about how we need to urgently remove interprovincial trade barriers in the face of the Trump tariff threat. But if we look at the actual evidence, poli...

Since it's back in the news, here's my post from last year debunking the (same old) economic modelling exercise that is producing preposterously large gains from removing the few barriers to inter-provincial trade
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

Anatomy of a housing downturn: What’s happening in BC and what’s next? - CCPA For more than a decade, housing has dominated BC’s public conversation due to surging prices for home ownership and tight rental housing markets. Now, real estate industry sentiment has shifted toward...

Real estate industry sentiment has shifted towards pessimism in #BC. But for many, the current downturn is actually a relief, and this moment offers a chance to restore some sanity to housing affordability. By @marclee.bsky.social @ccpabc.bsky.social #bcpoli www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

Anatomy of a housing downturn: What’s happening in BC and what’s next? - CCPA For more than a decade, housing has dominated BC’s public conversation due to surging prices for home ownership and tight rental housing markets. Now, real estate industry sentiment has shifted toward...

New piece from me looks at BC's housing downturn and challenges real estate industry narratives:
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

What’s missing from the Davos agenda: taxing the rich - CCPA This week, as government leaders, business executives, and heads of state gathered in Davos at the annual World Economic Forum meeting to discuss what they view as the most pressing issues facing our ...

New polling shows that taxing the wealthy maintains majority support, even among the wealthy themselves. That should be reflected in international priorities. By @dylandusseault.bsky.social. @policyalternatives.ca #wealthtax www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

How public grocery stores could work in Canada - CCPA Chances are you spent some of your holiday gatherings talking about the price of food. Costs to consumers have increased by almost 30 per cent since 2020, while mega-grocers doubled their profit margi...

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'Provincial liquor stores generate billions in revenue...[and] have become a bulwark against U.S. bullying by taking US. products off the shelves, giving Canada a bargaining chip in trade negotiations. A public grocery store could do likewise'

Quebec's Interprovincial Alcohol Sales Plan Faces Hurdles Quebec says cross-provincial booze sales could start by May, but the mechanics remain unclear and the province lags behind on trade agreements.

"The real barriers for businesses trading across Canada are distance and transportation costs," @marclee.bsky.social told the CBC, calling the national trade agreement "political theatre". www.themain.com/articles/que...

A new pipeline is the wrong response to the U.S. takeover of Venezuela - CCPA Immediately after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was apprehended by United States President Trump, the Globe and Mail editorial board quickly pivoted from condemning the action to promoting a new...

Since the U.S. abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Canadian elites have been trying to use the crisis to build more bitumen pipelines. Their strategy is foolish—and won't help Canada decouple from the United States. @marclee.bsky.social #pipelines
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

A new pipeline is the wrong response to the U.S. takeover of Venezuela - CCPA Immediately after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was apprehended by United States President Trump, the Globe and Mail editorial board quickly pivoted from condemning the action to promoting a new...

New piece looks at Canadian elites opportunistically using Venezuela to push their agenda for a new bitumen pipeline to the BC coast, a project that would likely entail massive government subsidies:
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

New report from @ccpa: Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs have smashed every compensation record on the books as average workers fell behind due to inflation. #inequality #wealthtax Part 1/2

Chart from @marclee.bsky.social in @theglobeandmail.com trade charts to watch this year: www.theglobeandmail.com/business/int.... "The bigger challenge for Canada is to develop a comprehensive economic strategy that adds value to our resources through advanced manufacturing and technology."