Reaction swift after N.B. reveals historic $1.3 billion deficit

New Brunswick is considering cuts or reductions ahead of the next provincial budget.

Reactions continue after the New Brunswick government revealed Tuesday its third quarter deficit is $1.3 billion – the highest it’s ever been.

Finance and Treasury Board Minister René Legacy said the status quo is not sustainable and welcomed more input from New Brunswickers through an online survey the province released Feb. 2. That survey will close Feb. 20.

Legacy said his next budget – tabled March 17 – will be a tough one, as the provincial government finds ways to make more and spend less without harming services.

Balancing the books before the next election is likely out of reach, said political scientist Jamie Gillies.

“They’re going to have to be strategic,” Gillies said. “But I don’t necessarily think that those budget deficits that are now above a billion, are going to be easy to get back down.”

One of Susan Holt’s campaign promises in the 2024 election was to maintain balanced books. Gillies said it’s time for the government to accept and acknowledge where their priorities lie: protecting services rather than the budget.

“It’s the difference between the Higgs government, which focused like a laser on fiscal conservatism at the expense of programs atrophying to the point where there was huge problems in the system,” he said. “The Liberal government is the antithesis to that. So run the deficits, own the deficits, and move on.”

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation said New Brunswickers deserve a government that can balance the budget and maintain services. The Federation’s Atlantic Director Devin Drover called on the Premier to conduct a review all provincial spending, noting it’s an exercise that worked for Jean Chrétien’s federal government three decades ago.

Legacy has released 12 options that his government is considering, including increasing fees and permits, introducing highway tolls and closing schools with fewer than 100 students.

“It bothers me, because I can’t put my finger on what it is,” said one Fredericton resident. “It’s one thing to borrow for things that we want and need for future generations, but I’m not sure what we’re borrowing for.”

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