STAY CONNECTED: Have the stories that matter most delivered every night to your email inbox. Subscribe to our daily local news wrap.
Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson delivers opening remarks to the newly elected Conservative government caucus in Victoria, on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
By The Canadian Press

Doerkson’s a fan of Carney’s budget, but it might not work as a template for B.C.

Nov 6, 2026 | 2:40 PM

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s premier-designate Lorne Doerkson is a fan of this week’s federal budget, but an economist says he’ll have trouble emulating it.

Marc Lee of the Centre for Policy Alternatives says B.C. is facing greater urgency than Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney to deal with deficit problems.

Doerkson has praised Thursday’s resource-revenue-focused federal budget as “encouraging and ambitious” and has said that his will likewise be “very committed” to growth.

Lee says that while the federal and provincial deficit-to-GDP ratios are about the same, British Columbia “can’t continue to run large deficits” year after year.

Doerkson’s incoming B.C. Conservative government has promised to cut this year’s forecast deficit of almost $14 billion through economic growth and without new taxes.

Lee says the federal government has more room to reduce spending than Doerkson, since the provincial government has primary responsibility for health, education and other social services, and British Columbians would notice cuts.

He says he’s “more skeptical” than some when it comes to the prospect of stimulating growth through tax deductions and regulatory changes, and politicians have mostly “pushed all the buttons” around growth.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press