Source documents

Canadian Home Builders’ Association of BC, April 14, 2026 letter to Premier David Eby — read the letter. B.C. government PST guidance on engineering and geoscience services — read the tax bulletin.

British Columbia’s housing crisis does not need another cost layer. Yet that is exactly what homebuilders say the NDP’s Budget 2026 is delivering.

In an April 14 letter to Premier David Eby, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association of BC warned that the province’s budget choices and code implementation timeline risk adding cost and uncertainty to homebuilding at the very moment B.C. needs more supply. The letter is not partisan theatre. It is a direct warning from the people who actually build homes.

The clearest example is the planned expansion of the provincial sales tax to selected professional services. The province’s own guidance says Budget 2026 expands PST to certain professional services effective October 1, 2026. For engineering and geoscience services, PST will apply at 7% on an amount equal to 30% of the purchase price. That may sound technical, but engineering is not optional in housing, infrastructure or major renovations. It is part of the cost stack that ultimately lands on projects, buyers and renters.

More housing, or more friction?

CHBA BC has been warning that builders already face weak sales, financing pressure, regulatory delays, escalating municipal charges and volatile costs. In its housing call-to-action, the association pointed to builders struggling to secure financing and to sell pre-sale homes, while government taxes, charges and fees can form a major share of the cost of new homes.

The NDP’s public line is that it is trying to unlock housing. But the test is not the slogan; it is whether policy makes homes easier or harder to deliver. Every new charge, every rushed code change and every uncertain rule makes lenders more cautious, projects harder to pencil, and small builders more vulnerable.

What is confirmed

  • CHBA BC wrote Premier David Eby on April 14, 2026 about Budget 2026 and building-code implementation.
  • Budget 2026 expands PST to certain professional services effective October 1, 2026.
  • The province says PST on engineering and geoscience services will apply at 7% on 30% of the purchase price.
  • CHBA BC has publicly warned that financing, pre-sales, taxes, fees and regulatory burden are straining new-home construction.

The accountability question

Housing promises are easy. Delivery is hard. If the government says it wants homes built faster, it should not be surprised when builders object to policies that make projects more expensive and less financeable.

The bottom line: Eby’s NDP cannot campaign on affordability while adding fresh costs to the professional work required to build homes. British Columbians need supply, not another tax line buried inside the construction invoice.