Living in B.C.: What will cost more, less, and the same in 2023

After a year marked by painful inflation levels we haven’t seen in years, British Columbians can expect to some necessities to cost the same in the new year, with a handful being cheaper but unlikely to make up for food costs that’ll continue to rise.

Here’s a look at what to expect in the coming year, starting with the bad news.

MORE EXPENSIVE

Industry experts agree that despite lower overall inflation in the fall and normal-level gas prices, it’ll take quite some time for that to trickle down to the grocery aisle and food will continue to get more expensive.

“Until probably the spring,” explained Sylvain Charlebois, Dalhousie University’s director of the Agri-Foods Analytics Lab. “In order to see wholesale discounts, you really need to see lower prices for an extended period of time.”

After reducing their rates by about 1.4 per cent last year, BC Hydro is increasing their rates by 2 per cent on April 1 and Fortis BC’s electricity rates will go up by 4 per cent.

BC Ferries is expected to hike rates starting April 1 and there are minor increases in fees at the municipal level, from higher parking rates at Stanley Park, to increased fees for shopping bags in Vancouver, and incoming bylaws for single-use plastics in communities including Chilliwack and Harrison Hot Springs.

GOVERNMENT-DRIVEN FREEZES OR LIMITED INCREASES

The province has stepped in with affordability measures in smaller and more impactful ways.

New legislation has capped food delivery fees and landlords can’t increase rent by more than two per cent for the year; they must also give tenants three months’ notice.

Last month, Premier David Eby announced that ICBC would be requesting approval from the BC Utilities Commission to freeze auto insurance rates for the next two years. 

LOWER COSTS

In 2022, more families started seeing long-promised government-subsidized daycare and this year even more families will see access to childcare that will save them hundreds of dollars per month per child.

On Sunday, a two-year ban on foreign ownership of homes went into effect across Canada, but analysts believe that’ll have little impact on housing prices, pointing to painful interest rates that’ve already cooled the market significantly.

There’s still uncertainty as to whether the Bank of Canada will increase its key lending rate yet again, or leave it at the current 4.25 per cent it currently sits at after seven hikes last year. 

Either way, there’s widespread consensus that home prices will continue to fall as sales have dropped from a third to half as many as there were a year ago. However, recent forecasting predicts a rebound is possible by the end of the year.