BC municipal spending doubled in 14 years, growing far faster than population and inflation

Municipal operating spending across British Columbia nearly doubled over the past 14 years, growing substantially faster than both population growth and inflation — a shift raising questions about whether residents are receiving better services or paying for inefficiency.

According to the Business Council of British Columbia, the province's 153 municipal governments accumulated about $6.5 billion in spending beyond what population growth and inflation would naturally require between 2010 and 2024. That amounts to approximately $1,280 per resident covered by the analysis. Total operating spending rose from $6.3 billion in 2010 to $12.3 billion in 2024 — a 94 percent increase. Over the same period, the combined population grew by 28 percent and inflation reached approximately 36 percent.

Had spending increased only to match those pressures, it would have grown by about 75 percent — 19 percent less than what actually occurred. "Population growth and inflation naturally increase the cost of delivering municipal services," said Jairo Yunis, BCBC's director of policy. "The concern is that, in most municipalities, spending has consistently grown well beyond those pressures. Unless residents are receiving significantly better services, it's reasonable to ask whether local governments are delivering those services as efficiently as they could."

The trend accelerated during each election cycle: average annual "excess spending" grew from $128 million ($31 per resident) in the 2011 to 2014 period to $800 million ($163 per resident) during the first two years of the current 2022 to 2026 term. Among the 153 municipalities examined, inflation-adjusted operating spending grew faster than population in 135 of them — 88 percent of the total.