Latest values, rankings and charts for British Columbia, all computed from Statistics Canada data held by this platform. The economic story below explains with attributed statements from official sources; the profile only computes. Forecasts quoted are their publishers' and Northline publishes none.
Data profile with a sourced economic storyEvery statement in the data profile below is computed from a published series and links to its source in the chart footers. Rankings compare places on the same definition and period; they describe differences and do not explain them. The three territories have their own profiles.
The economy
What is pulling British Columbia's economy down and what is supporting it?
British Columbia's population barely grew over the past year and the province has cut its 2026 growth forecast, even as exports shift away from the United States toward LNG and copper
What happened
British Columbia's unemployment rate was 6.3% in October 2026, employment changed by 0.0% from a year earlier and the population by 0.1% from four quarters earlier. Real GDP changed 18.2% from 2019 to 2025, and 21.6% from 2020, when the pandemic depressed output.
Why it happened
Historical context
The province says its exposure to US tariffs is concentrated in forestry, aluminum and manufacturing, that exports to the United States are down largely because of lower softwood lumber exports, and that exports to other destinations rose on LNG production, higher commodity prices and copper demand tied to the clean-energy transition and data-centre grid expansion.
The Budget 2026 fiscal plan says British Columbia is less exposed to US trade than other provinces, with nearly half of goods exports going to non-US destinations.
In its preliminary estimates of 1 May 2026, Statistics Canada reported that increased output from oil and gas extraction in British Columbia (up 7.3 per cent) and from copper and other ore mining (up 9.4 per cent) was among the top contributors to growth in 2025.
The province said its population was down 0.9 per cent on April 1, 2026 because of a sharp reversal in international migration, and the labour force has decreased slightly amid tighter federal immigration policy; employment in the first seven months of 2026 was 0.7 per cent lower than in the same months of 2025. It revised its 2026 forecast down because of temporary weakness in the labour and housing markets weighing on consumer spending and residential investment. Statistics Canada's current series instead shows the population rising from 5.688 million to 5.704 million over those twelve months.
The province estimates its economy expanded 2.0 per cent in 2025 and notes that the share of goods exports going to the United States has declined for the last three years. Statistics Canada's revised estimate, released on 5 November 2026, puts 2025 growth in real output at basic prices at 2.2%.
CMHC says British Columbia and Ontario will likely continue to struggle with historically weak home sales because of affordability challenges and slower population growth.
The province expects the average home sale price to fall 1.2 per cent in 2026, the second consecutive annual decline, and says homebuilding across the province's census metropolitan areas was lower than a year earlier.
Budget 2026 planned 37.7 billion dollars of taxpayer-supported capital spending over three years, including 13.8 billion dollars for transit and transportation; the September quarterly report puts the three-year total at 36.4 billion dollars, citing changes in project cash flows.
The federal government announced a final investment decision for LNG Canada Phase 2 on September 29, 2026, which it says doubles terminal capacity to 28 million tonnes a year and unlocks a 33-billion-dollar private investment.
The province lists its main downside risks as a worsening global trade conflict, broadening inflationary pressure from the conflict in the Middle East, a global climate of uncertainty that slows investment, and housing market weakness, and forecasts deficits of 13.8 billion dollars in 2026-27 and 12.0 billion in 2028-29.
The same report forecasts taxpayer-supported debt at 30.1 per cent of GDP at the end of 2026-27, rising to 36.8 per cent by 2028-29, against 30.6 and 37.4 per cent in the February budget, and says the province's net liabilities-to-GDP ratio continues to be one of the lowest across jurisdictions.
The province's first-quarterly report forecasts real GDP growth of 0.9 per cent in 2026 and 1.9 per cent in 2027, an unemployment rate averaging 6.4 per cent in 2026, and a population decline in 2026 followed by recovery as immigration returns to more typical levels. Statistics Canada's estimate for July 1, 2026 has since shown a rise of 0.1%. These are the province's forecasts, not Northline's. The next quarterly report and Statistics Canada's population estimates (release calendar) show whether the migration reversal is easing.
Fiscal position, investment and comparisons
How does British Columbia's fiscal position, export mix, capital plan and labour market differ from the national picture and from Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, and what do the sources say explains the differences?
British Columbia is running a large deficit with natural gas royalties and property transfer tax both revised down, while about half of its goods exports go to the United States, far fewer than in Alberta or Ontario
What happened
British Columbia's government is forecasting deficits in each of the next three years, while employment changed by 0.0% from a year earlier, the unemployment rate was 6.3% in October 2026 (6th of 10 among the provinces, 1st = highest) and the population changed by 0.1% from four quarters earlier. In the fiscal year that began in April 2024, the government's net operating balance on Statistics Canada's basis was -16.5% of revenue.
Historical context
The province's own public accounts recorded a smaller deficit, of $7.3 billion, for fiscal 2024-25.
The province's First Quarterly Report forecasts revenue of 86.3 billion dollars for 2026/27 and taxpayer-supported debt of 141.1 billion dollars at the end of that year. It says the debt-to-GDP ratio, its key debt-affordability measure, is lower than in Budget 2026 and reaches 36.8 per cent by 2028/29, and that the province maintains manageable debt metrics relative to other provinces.
The deficit forecast for 2026/27 is 13.8 billion dollars, higher than in the budget. The report attributes the revisions to higher spending on communities affected by wildfires, lower revenue outlooks, and refundable tax credits.
Two revenue lines moved the wrong way. Natural gas royalties are down 531 million dollars, which the report attributes partly to correcting calculation errors in the budget price forecast and partly to lower private-sector price expectations; the plant-inlet price assumption is now 1.10 dollars a gigajoule against 2.18 in the budget. It adds that royalty rates are particularly sensitive to prices in a band of 1.22 to 2.42 dollars, so effective rates generally fall as prices fall, and that a new royalty framework takes full effect on January 1, 2027.
Property transfer tax revenue is forecast to be lower by 1.0 billion dollars over the three-year period. Mining revenue, by contrast, is up on higher forecast prices for coal, copper and gold, and the report puts the copper price forecast 18 per cent above the budget's.
The Province's credit-ratings page lists Moody's at Aa2 with a negative outlook, S&P at A with a negative outlook, Morningstar DBRS at AA with a stable outlook and Fitch at AA- with a negative outlook. The page also says the credit rating affects the government's borrowing costs. This is the Province's listing; the agencies' own reports are not cited.
Finance Canada's Equalization table for 2026-27 lists payments for the first seven of the ten provinces, from Newfoundland and Labrador to Manitoba, and none for Saskatchewan, Alberta or British Columbia. It says Equalization supports provinces with lower than average fiscal capacity.
Taxpayer-supported capital spending is forecast to total 36.4 billion dollars over the plan period, 12.9 billion of it in 2026/27, with a further 19.3 billion dollars of self-supported spending by commercial Crown corporations over three years. The report says timing changes in health, K-12 and transportation projects lowered the current-year figure.
The federal government calls LNG Canada Phase 2 at Kitimat the second-largest single private investment in Canadian history, and says it doubles terminal capacity to 28 million tonnes a year with a 33-billion-dollar private investment.
The province expects real business investment to be roughly flat in 2027 because a recovery in residential construction is mostly offset by lower non-residential investment as LNG projects under construction near completion.
The Major Projects Office says Roberts Bank Terminal 2 would raise the Port of Vancouver's container capacity by nearly half, has completed a federal environmental assessment, and is pending final permits; it says that on October 30, 2026 the government announced its decision to list the project as a project of national interest under the Building Canada Act.
Domestic merchandise exports to the United States were 51% of British Columbia's total in calendar year 2025 and energy products were 30%.
Historical context
Year-to-date to June 2026 the United States took 47.2 per cent of goods exports, and exports to it fell 7.4 per cent, while exports elsewhere rose 15.3 per cent, led by China, South Korea and India. The province says its tariff exposure is concentrated in forestry, aluminum and manufacturing, and that copper ores and concentrates rose 59.9 per cent.
Forestry shows the exposure directly: the report links lower stumpage rates, and therefore forest revenue, to higher operating costs, softwood lumber duties and the 10 per cent tariff.
Real output at basic prices in British Columbia (chained 2017 dollars, Statistics Canada table 36-10-0711-01) was C$322.8 billion in 2025, a change of 32.5% over ten years. Over the same ten years goods-producing industries changed 16.8% and services-producing industries 37.9%; mining, quarrying and oil and gas changed 20.0%, manufacturing -9.3% and the public sector 38.3%. These are changes in real output, not in income or jobs, and the table gives no reason for the differences; the sourced paragraphs in this section and in the story give the explanations that named sources offer.
Real output by industry in British Columbia, indexed
Real GDP at basic prices, chained 2017 dollars, annual (Statistics Canada table 36-10-0711-01); first year shown = 100. Goods and services against the total, with mining and oil and gas, manufacturing and the public sector. Chained-dollar levels are not additive, so only changes are compared.
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Latest values: All industries 322,800,000,000 (2025); Goods-producing industries 67,950,000,000 (2025); Services-producing industries 255,800,000,000 (2025); Mining, quarrying and oil and gas 11,810,000,000 (2025); and 2 more in the data table.
Labour productivity, meaning real value added per hour worked in chained 2017 dollars (Statistics Canada table 36-10-0713-01), was C$65.10 an hour in British Columbia in 2025, ranking 4th of 10 (highest = 1), a change of 10.0% over ten years. In goods-producing industries it was C$65.60 an hour (a change of -2.7% over ten years) and in services-producing industries C$65.20 an hour (a change of 14.4%). A high level can reflect capital-intensive industries such as oil, gas and mining rather than the efficiency of the whole economy, and the table says nothing about why levels or changes differ.
Labour productivity in British Columbia: goods and services
Real value added per hour worked, chained 2017 dollars, annual (Statistics Canada table 36-10-0713-01). Goods-producing industries include mining and oil and gas, so their level reflects capital-intensive resource extraction as well as manufacturing and construction.
Statistics Canada reported in May 2026 that British Columbia's real GDP grew 2.0 per cent in 2025, one of only two provinces to outpace its previous year's growth, with oil and gas extraction and copper and other ore mining among the top contributors. Its revised figure, released on 5 November 2026, is 2.2% at basic prices.
The 2025 gain came from resource extraction while tariffs and weaker migration were already visible in lumber and housing; the research desk reads the 2026 slowdown as those two forces overtaking the resource gains. This is an interpretation, not a source statement.
Across geographies
Comparison with Canada, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec
British Columbia's unemployment rate of 6.3% compares with 7.3% in Alberta, 7.3% in Ontario and 5.7% in Quebec, and 6.7% nationally. Average weekly earnings are C$1,366 a week, 3rd of 10 among the provinces, against C$1,410 a week in Alberta and C$1,394 a week in Ontario. Over four quarters the population changed 0.1% in British Columbia, 1.5% in Alberta, 0.3% in Ontario and 0.2% in Quebec.
Net interprovincial migration over the latest four quarters was 6,928 persons in British Columbia and 22 thousand in Alberta; non-permanent residents changed by -32 thousand and -7,957.
On exports, the United States took 51% of British Columbia's domestic exports in 2025, against 85% for Alberta, 72% for Ontario and 72% for Quebec.
Historical context
The province's own budget says it is less exposed to US trade than other provinces, with nearly half of goods exports going to non-US destinations; the customs data above agree on the direction.
Alberta, by comparison, forecasts non-renewable resource revenue of 22,955 million dollars in 2026-27 in its first-quarter update, more than a quarter of its total revenue of 86,279 million.
Statistics Canada reports that from July 2024 to July 2025 the Vancouver metropolitan area lost people to the rest of the province and had a net loss of non-permanent residents.
Ontario's budget says trade disruptions have disproportionately affected regions near the United States with more manufacturing employment, which is the structural contrast with British Columbia's resource and port exports.
Quebec is among the provinces Finance Canada lists as receiving Equalization in 2026-27; British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan are not. In the same table, British Columbia's non-resource fiscal capacity is 13,419 against 13,508 for Alberta and 10,094 for Quebec (the table's units are not stated).
The sources document each contrast separately; none attributes British Columbia's weaker position than Alberta's to a single cause. The research desk's reading is that Alberta's oil-price gain and migration inflow are absent in British Columbia, where gas prices fell and international migration reversed. This is a hypothesis, not a source statement.
What it influences
Labour, housing and migration
Historical context
The province says the labour force has decreased slightly amid tighter federal immigration policy and that employment was down 0.7 per cent in the first seven months of 2026, with the largest losses in wholesale and retail trade, transportation and warehousing, and finance, insurance and real estate.
CMHC says Vancouver's housing market is increasingly centred on rental development, with rental apartments around 60% of starts in 2026 against under a fifth in 2016, and that condominium starts fell sharply because of weak presales, high costs and unsold inventory.
The province lists a worsening global trade conflict, broader inflation from the Middle East conflict, slower investment and housing weakness as its main downside risks.
The February budget added that Canada's renegotiation of CUSMA kept the trade outlook uncertain. On 1 July 2026 the United States did not agree to renew the agreement, which it said remains in force pending resolution of the issues or until it is terminated.
The province's real GDP forecast for 2026 is 0.9 per cent and it expects growth to average 2.1 per cent from 2028 to 2030. These are its forecasts, not Northline's. Watch the royalty framework taking effect in 2027, the Roberts Bank permitting decision, the next quarterly report and the credit-rating outlooks, three of which the Province lists as negative.
Written profile
What do the data show about the British Columbia economy?
British Columbia's unemployment rate was 6.3% in October 2026, its prices were up 3.0% in the year to September 2026 and its government's net operating balance, on Statistics Canada's basis, was -16.5% of revenue in the fiscal year that began in April 2024
British Columbia against the other nine
From 2019 to 2025 British Columbia's real GDP grew 18.2%, second of the ten provinces after Prince Edward Island; measured from 2020, when the pandemic depressed output, its growth of 21.6% ranks fourth, behind Prince Edward Island, Alberta and Nova Scotia, whose output fell further in 2020. It also has the slowest population growth, at 0.1% over the latest four quarters, and its employment changed by 0.0% from a year earlier, ninth of ten. Output has kept growing while the number of people has almost stopped growing.
The unemployment rate of 6.3% is down from 6.6% a year earlier and ranks 6th of 10 among the ten provinces (1st = highest). Average weekly earnings in August 2026 were 5.1% higher than a year earlier, second of ten, while consumer prices in September 2026 were up 3.0%, the second lowest. The province's population changed little: non-permanent residents changed by -32 thousand over four quarters, while net movement from other provinces was 6,928 persons. The first is a loss of temporary residents; the second is a gain from other provinces that did not offset it.
Growth that came from services
British Columbia's real output across all industries was 16.2% higher in 2025 than in 2019. The growth was in services. Professional, scientific and technical services grew 42.3%, health care and social assistance 35.8%, information and culture 23.3% and construction 16.0%. Manufacturing output fell 12.8%, the second weakest of the ten provinces after Newfoundland and Labrador.
The data behind this graphic
Change in real output since 2019, British Columbia
Only 51% of British Columbia's C$54.7 billion of domestic goods exports went to the United States in 2025, the second lowest share of the ten provinces, after Newfoundland and Labrador. The rest went elsewhere, which means a US tariff decision weighs less on BC's goods trade than on Ontario's or Alberta's.
The data behind this graphic
Share of domestic goods exports sent to the United States
In the fiscal year that began in April 2024 the provincial government's net operating balance was -C$13.2 billion on revenues of C$79.6 billion, a balance equal to -16.5% of revenue (negative is a deficit) on Statistics Canada's basis, which differs from the province's own accounts.
Historical context
The province's own public accounts recorded a deficit of $7.3 billion for fiscal 2024-25.
Over the latest twelve months housing starts fell4.8% against the twelve months before. The monthly annual rate moves sharply: in September 2026 it was +42.0% against a year earlier, so a single month is not a trend.
What it means for decisions
Opinion
For a business serving British Columbia, the record is of a market growing in output and not in head count: professional and health services and construction are where output has grown, while manufacturers face a record of decline since 2019. Firms that depend on population growth for customers, such as retail, rental housing and consumer services, face the weakest population growth of any province.
What the data cannot say: they do not separate British Columbia's regions (Metro Vancouver, the Interior, the north and Vancouver Island differ), they do not show why the two migration flows changed, and the fiscal comparison is on Statistics Canada's definitions, not the province's own. Nothing here is a forecast.
Labour market and prices
The unemployment rate was 6.3% in October 2026, ranking 6th of 10 among the ten provinces (1st = highest). Employment changed by 0.0% over the year and the participation rate was 64.7%. Average weekly earnings were C$1,366 a week in August 2026, ranking 3rd of 10. Consumer prices were up 3.0% in September 2026 on a year earlier, ranking 9th of 10.
Unemployment rate by province
Percent, seasonally adjusted, monthly. Province series, Labour Force Survey.
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Latest values: British Columbia 6.3 (2026-10); Alberta 7.3 (2026-10); Saskatchewan 5.9 (2026-10); Manitoba 5 (2026-10); and 6 more in the data table.
The population was 0.1% higher than four quarters earlier. Net interprovincial migration over the latest four quarters was 6,928 persons (negative = net outflow), and non-permanent residents changed by -32 thousand. Real GDP changed 21.6% from 2020, when the pandemic depressed output, to 2025, and 18.2% from 2019. Retail sales in August 2026 were 3.7% higher than a year earlier.
Population by province, indexed
Quarterly estimates; start of period = 100.
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Latest values: British Columbia 5,711,000 (2026 Q3); Alberta 5,101,000 (2026 Q3); Saskatchewan 1,278,000 (2026 Q3); Manitoba 1,517,000 (2026 Q3); and 6 more in the data table.
Annual, 2017 constant prices (not chained); start of the period = 100. Expenditure-based.
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Latest values: British Columbia 356,100,000,000 (2025); Alberta 382,600,000,000 (2025); Saskatchewan 90,590,000,000 (2025); Manitoba 79,430,000,000 (2025); and 6 more in the data table.
Economic structure and trade exposure
In 2025 (the year of the table's latest annual average), health care and social assistance employed 14.0% of British Columbia's workers, retail trade 11.5%, construction 8.9% and public administration 5.3%. Among goods-producing groups, agriculture 0.6%; forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas 1.5%; and manufacturing 6.3%. Finance and insurance employed 4.1% and professional, scientific and technical services 10.7%.
How much of each province’s employment is in one industry
Share of provincial employment, 2025 annual average (Labour Force Survey). A measured exposure to an industry, not an estimate of how much output or income depends on it. “Resources” combines forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying and oil and gas.
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Top values: Newfoundland and Labrador 6.37%; Alberta 5.58%; Saskatchewan 3.76%.
Domestic merchandise exports were C$54.7 billion in calendar year 2025. 51% went to the United States and energy products were 30% of the total; energy products sent to the United States were 11% of all the province's domestic exports. These are customs-basis goods exports assigned to the province of origin as Statistics Canada defines it; they exclude services, which are a large part of some provincial economies, and the province of export clearance can differ from the province of production for some commodities.
Where each province’s goods exports go, and what they are, 2025
Share of each province’s domestic merchandise exports (customs basis). A measured exposure of export value to one market or one commodity group, not an estimate of how much income or employment depends on it.
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Top values: New Brunswick 90.4%; Alberta 85.43%; Prince Edward Island 80.05%.
Employment shares and export shares describe the structure of the economy; they do not by themselves show which industries drive growth, incomes or public revenue, or how exposed the province is to a given shock.
Long-run perspective
Population is 104.6% higher on 1 July 2026 than on 1 January 1981, against 69.5% for Canada as a whole. Real GDP (at 2017 constant prices) is 220.6% higher in 2025 than in 1981; this is a level comparison between two years, not an average annual rate, and it is not compared with a national figure here because the national real GDP series is monthly and on a different basis.
Employment is 76.8% higher in October 2026 than in June 1993, the start of the national series used here (65.1% for Canada). Over the past forty years the unemployment rate has ranged from 4.1% (August 2007) to 14.0% (May 2020); it was 6.3% in October 2026, against 6.7% for Canada.
Employment by province, indexed
Seasonally adjusted; start of period = 100.
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Latest values: British Columbia 2,941,000 (2026-10); Alberta 2,660,000 (2026-10); Saskatchewan 624,600 (2026-10); Manitoba 752,500 (2026-10); and 6 more in the data table.
Average weekly earnings, in current dollars and not seasonally adjusted, are 109.1% higher in August 2026 than in the same month twenty-five years earlier (106.8% for Canada). These are nominal figures: they include the effect of price increases over twenty-five years and are not a measure of the change in purchasing power.
These comparisons describe the size of changes between two dates. They do not say why this jurisdiction differs from Canada, and the end points can matter: a different starting year changes the percentage.
Public finances
For the fiscal year that began in April 2024, on Statistics Canada's basis, the provincial government's revenue was C$79.6 billion and its expense C$92.8 billion, leaving a net operating balance of -C$13.2 billion (-16.5% of revenue). Grants received from other governments (mostly federal transfers; the table does not split them by payer) were C$14.0 billion, 17.6% of revenue. Liabilities at the end of the year were C$144.6 billion and net worth C$25.8 billion. These are past-year accounts, not the current budget.
British Columbia's metropolitan areas are covered on their own pages: Vancouver. Metropolitan figures are never substituted for provincial ones.
What is not assessed
Why these figures differ from other provinces, industry structure beyond the latest employment shares, housing prices and rents, exports by destination over time, the current budget and credit ratings, major projects, and policy changes. This profile cites no source that explains British Columbia's position, and nothing here is a forecast.
1 · Where it ranks
British Columbia among the ten provinces
Same values as the Canada atlas layers. Rank 1 is the highest value, which is not always the most favourable outcome. A measure the source does not publish for a place is simply absent.
Latest values: British Columbia 2,941,000 (2026-10); Alberta 2,660,000 (2026-10); Saskatchewan 624,600 (2026-10); Manitoba 752,500 (2026-10); and 6 more in the data table.
Current dollars per hour, all industries, employees aged 15 and over, not seasonally adjusted.
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Latest values: British Columbia 39.54 (2026-10); Alberta 39 (2026-10); Saskatchewan 34.21 (2026-10); Manitoba 32.46 (2026-10); and 6 more in the data table.
Average weekly earnings by province
Current dollars per week, industrial aggregate incl. overtime, not seasonally adjusted.
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Latest values: British Columbia 1,366 (2026-08); Alberta 1,410 (2026-08); Saskatchewan 1,303 (2026-08); Manitoba 1,248 (2026-08); and 6 more in the data table.
3 · Prices
Inflation
12-month change in the all-items CPI, derived by this project from the index.
Consumer price inflation by province
12-month change in the all-items CPI (derived by this project from the index).
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Latest values: British Columbia 2.96 (2026-09); Alberta 3.6 (2026-09); Saskatchewan 3.3 (2026-09); Manitoba 4.36 (2026-09); and 6 more in the data table.
Quarterly population estimates and four-quarter migration flows.
Population by province, indexed
Quarterly estimates; start of period = 100.
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Latest values: British Columbia 5,711,000 (2026 Q3); Alberta 5,101,000 (2026 Q3); Saskatchewan 1,278,000 (2026 Q3); Manitoba 1,517,000 (2026 Q3); and 6 more in the data table.
New permanent residents arriving over the previous four quarters.
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Latest values: British Columbia 45,800 (2026 Q2); Alberta 50,160 (2026 Q2); Saskatchewan 14,390 (2026 Q2); Manitoba 19,350 (2026 Q2); and 6 more in the data table.
Net interprovincial migration (4-quarter total)
In-migrants minus out-migrants over the previous four quarters (derived).
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Latest values: British Columbia 58,490 (2026 Q2); Alberta 78,320 (2026 Q2); Saskatchewan 18,270 (2026 Q2); Manitoba 14,610 (2026 Q2); and 6 more in the data table.
Annual real GDP and monthly activity indicators, indexed so the start of the period equals 100 where noted.
Real GDP by province, indexed
Annual, 2017 constant prices (not chained); start of the period = 100. Expenditure-based.
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Latest values: British Columbia 356,100,000,000 (2025); Alberta 382,600,000,000 (2025); Saskatchewan 90,590,000,000 (2025); Manitoba 79,430,000,000 (2025); and 6 more in the data table.
Retail sales by province, indexed
Seasonally adjusted; start of period = 100.
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Latest values: British Columbia 9,970,000,000 (2026-08); Alberta 9,649,000,000 (2026-08); Saskatchewan 2,315,000,000 (2026-08); Manitoba 2,530,000,000 (2026-08); and 6 more in the data table.
Manufacturing sales by province, indexed
Seasonally adjusted shipments; start of period = 100.
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Latest values: British Columbia 6,093,000,000 (2026-08); Alberta 10,510,000,000 (2026-08); Saskatchewan 2,300,000,000 (2026-08); Manitoba 2,367,000,000 (2026-08); and 6 more in the data table.
Investment in new building construction by province, indexed
Current dollars, not seasonally adjusted, 12-month sum; start of the period = 100.
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Latest values: British Columbia 26,550,000,000 (2026-08); Alberta 21,980,000,000 (2026-08); Saskatchewan 3,138,000,000 (2026-08); Manitoba 4,591,000,000 (2026-08); and 6 more in the data table.
Housing starts by province (12-month average)
Seasonally adjusted annual rate, averaged over 12 months (smoothed); units per year. CMHC data distributed by Statistics Canada.
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Latest values: British Columbia 43,320 (2026-09); Alberta 49,530 (2026-09); Saskatchewan 6,443 (2026-09); Manitoba 8,790 (2026-09); and 6 more in the data table.
Latest shares only. A measured exposure, not an estimate of how much output or income depends on an industry.
Industry
Share of provincial employment
Period
World oil price (WTI)
30.1%
2025
Health care and social assistance
14.0%
2025
Professional, scientific and technical services
10.7%
2025
Construction
8.9%
2025
Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing
6.4%
2025
Manufacturing
6.3%
2025
Transportation and warehousing
5.3%
2025
Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas
1.5%
2025
Agriculture
0.6%
2025
Real output by industry in British Columbia, indexed
Real GDP at basic prices, chained 2017 dollars, annual (Statistics Canada table 36-10-0711-01); first year shown = 100. Goods and services against the total, with mining and oil and gas, manufacturing and the public sector. Chained-dollar levels are not additive, so only changes are compared.
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Latest values: All industries 322,800,000,000 (2025); Goods-producing industries 67,950,000,000 (2025); Services-producing industries 255,800,000,000 (2025); Mining, quarrying and oil and gas 11,810,000,000 (2025); and 2 more in the data table.
Labour productivity by province
Real value added per hour worked, all industries, chained 2017 dollars (Statistics Canada table 36-10-0713-01), annual. A level, not an index: it compares output per hour across provinces, and is high where capital-intensive industries such as oil and gas or mining weigh heavily in the economy.
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Latest values: British Columbia 65.1 (2025); Newfoundland and Labrador 72 (2025); Prince Edward Island 47.6 (2025); Nova Scotia 52.3 (2025); and 6 more in the data table.
Labour productivity in British Columbia: goods and services
Real value added per hour worked, chained 2017 dollars, annual (Statistics Canada table 36-10-0713-01). Goods-producing industries include mining and oil and gas, so their level reflects capital-intensive resource extraction as well as manufacturing and construction.
Change in real output by industry in each province, 2015 to 2025
Percent change in real GDP at basic prices (chained 2017 dollars, annual) over ten years. Each industry is compared with itself; chained-dollar levels are not additive, so shares of the total are not shown. A measure of the change in output, not of income or employment.
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Top values: Prince Edward Island 38.2%; British Columbia 32.5%; Nova Scotia 26.3%.
How much of each province’s employment is in one industry
Share of provincial employment, 2025 annual average (Labour Force Survey). A measured exposure to an industry, not an estimate of how much output or income depends on it. “Resources” combines forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying and oil and gas.
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Top values: Newfoundland and Labrador 6.37%; Alberta 5.58%; Saskatchewan 3.76%.
Where each province’s goods exports go, and what they are, 2025
Share of each province’s domestic merchandise exports (customs basis). A measured exposure of export value to one market or one commodity group, not an estimate of how much income or employment depends on it.
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Top values: New Brunswick 90.4%; Alberta 85.43%; Prince Edward Island 80.05%.
7 · Cities
Metropolitan areas in British Columbia
City pages use metropolitan data; this province page must not be read as any of them.
From the relationship graph, each with its evidence class.
Vancouver is a census metropolitan area located in British Columbia (Statistics Canada Standard Geographical Classification). institutional relationshipdetails
British Columbia is a province of Canada. institutional relationshipdetails
50.99% of British Columbia's domestic merchandise exports went to the United States in 2025 (customs basis). documented exposuredetails
The provincial or territorial government's accounts
Statistics Canada government finance statistics (public-accounts basis), fiscal years ended 31 March. Annual, and about two years behind: past position, not this year's budget.
Measure
Latest
Fiscal year beginning in April
Year before
Revenue
C$79.6 billion
2024
C$76.3 billion
Grants received from other governments (part of revenue)
C$14.0 billion
2024
C$14.3 billion
Expense
C$92.8 billion
2024
C$85.9 billion
Net operating balance (revenue minus expense)
−C$13.2 billion
2024
−C$9.7 billion
Liabilities (end of fiscal year)
C$144.6 billion
2024
C$116.1 billion
Net worth (end of fiscal year; negative = liabilities exceed assets)
C$25.8 billion
2024
C$44.8 billion
Computed: grants from other governments were 17.6% of revenue in the fiscal year that began in April 2024; the table does not say which government paid them, and most are federal transfers. Compare on the atlas →
Computed: the net operating balance was -16.5% of revenue in the fiscal year that began in April 2024. Compare on the atlas →
10 · Not assessed
What this profile does not cover
Listed so that silence is not mistaken for absence of an issue.
The current budget, credit ratings and fiscal plan (only past fiscal years are held)
Housing prices and rents
Employment by industry over time (only the latest provincial shares are held)
Exports by destination over time (only the latest year is held)
