The Ministry of Finance is clarifying plans for changes to the provincial sales tax (PST) that were announced in Budget 2026. As of effect on October 1, 2026, PST will be applied to certain professional services, but not necessarily at 100%. For architectural, engineering, and…
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The Ministry of Water, Lands and Natural Resources will hold an online engagement session on July 16, 2026, 1-3pm, for local governments about a suite of initiatives underway to update natural resource permitting processes in British Columbia.
The session builds on…
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The federal government is accepting applications for shovel-ready, Class C infrastructure projects that can begin before the end of 2026. Funding is being provided through the ‘Direct Delivery’ stream of the Build Canada Strong Fund (BCSF). This stream will provide $6 billion…
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An announcement by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier David Eby provided general information on concepts to increase the supply of affordable homes and deliver housing-enabling infrastructure funding, but few details were shared. Speaking in Vancouver, the Prime Minister…
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A new regulation for procurement notices is coming into effect as of September 2026 for local governments. Per new Canadian Free Trade Agreement rules, all procurement notices covered under CFTA must be posted on CanadaBuys, the federal government’s procurement platform.…
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On June 15, the Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions and BC Hydro announced a new long-term strategy to address increasing electricity demand. Powering Growth, Fueling Opportunity outlines the Province’s response to projected increases in electricity demand of 20% by 2030…
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The Housing Assessment Resource Tools (HART) research team at UBC has developed a BC Public Lands Map that shows every level of government-owned land across BC, with access to amenity scores, site characteristics, ownership data, and information on infrastructure access.…
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The Local Government Leadership Academy’s Elected Officials Seminars (EOS) are held every four years following the local government general election and will be held this winter across the province. They are designed to deepen elected official and senior staff understanding…
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Nominations are now open for the next UBCM Executive. The deadline for advance nominations is July 31, 2026 at 4pm. Interested candidates should review the Call for Nominations for details on what positions are available, responsibilities of Executive members, and election…
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The Province has provided an update on its implementation of the Coastal Marine Strategy and will be holding a webinar for local government staff and officials on June 23.
Last week the Province provided an update on 20 marine stewardship projects that will be funded in 2026, in…