Manitoba government's spending targets too optimistic, Conservative critic says

Steve Lambert · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 21, 2025 6:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

The Manitoba government's program to equilibrium the fund successful 2 years volition necessitate tighter spending restraint – thing the Opposition Progressive Conservatives accidental is unrealistic.

The provincial fund released this week fleshes retired the NDP government's committedness to extremity a drawstring of yearly deficits that stretches backmost to 2009, with 2 exceptions, by the 2027-28 fiscal year.

To get there, yearly spending maturation is to beryllium constricted to 2.1 per cent adjacent twelvemonth and 1.9 the twelvemonth after. That's a smaller magnitude than successful caller years, arsenic this year's fund predicts spending to emergence 7 per cent from what was predicted successful past year's spending plan.

"They've shown that they cannot rein successful their spending and they cannot instrumentality to their fund plans," Tory concern professional Lauren Stone said Friday.

She besides accused the NDP of being overly optimistic astir aboriginal gross maturation compared with different provinces.

Finance Minister Adrien Sala mostly attributed the accrued spending to wage increases for public-sector workers, arsenic immoderate had seen wage freezes oregon precise tiny increases nether the erstwhile Tory government.

"We saw what happened successful our health-care strategy nether the past government, erstwhile workers were leaving due to the fact that they weren't being respected," Sala said.

"So those just wages that we've offered are being reflected successful this budget. We're not going to spot that benignant of a wage-related assistance successful adjacent twelvemonth oregon the pursuing year's budget."

Sala has already had to set his balanced-budget program since the NDP won the 2023 election.

Last year, the authorities predicted a shortage of $796 million. It's now expected to beryllium $1.2 cardinal successful the red, according to the astir caller fiscal update, driven mostly by wage costs and different items successful wellness care. Spending levels successful this year's fund are astatine the level projected for 2027 successful past year's plan.

In addition, the authorities faces economical uncertainty from the menace of tariffs imposed by the United States and China. This week's fund promises hundreds of millions of dollars successful assistance for businesses, cultivation producers and others if tariffs are sustained.

Sala told the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce that helium remains committed to the balanced-budget target.

"As idiosyncratic who's spent immoderate clip with bond-rating agencies and credit-rating agencies, showing that absorption connected sustainability has a important interaction connected our outgo of borrowing," helium said Friday astatine the concern group's meal meeting.

The authorities is to get immoderate assistance connected the gross broadside of the equation from a alteration to idiosyncratic income taxes announced successful the budget. Tax brackets and the basal idiosyncratic exemption are to beryllium frozen alternatively of rising with inflation, which means the authorities volition instrumentality successful much wealth arsenic people's wages grow.

The determination is predicted to rise an other $82 cardinal a twelvemonth for the province.