P.E.I. projects record $183.9M deficit in budget designed with population growth, trade war in mind

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 2:18 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

Prince Edward Island is projecting the largest fund shortage successful its past for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, according to the province's latest operating budget, tabled successful the legislature Thursday by Finance Minister Jill Burridge.

The fund projects revenues of $3.34 cardinal and expenditures of $3.53 billion, resulting successful a forecasted shortage of $183.9 million. That is much than triple the $59.5 cardinal shortage forecasted successful past spring's fund for the aforesaid fiscal year.

The erstwhile grounds shortage was successful 2020-2021, the archetypal twelvemonth of the COVID-19 pandemic, erstwhile the state recorded a $172.7 cardinal deficit.

While the authorities led by caller Premier Rob Lantz expects the deficits to alteration successful the years ahead, they volition inactive stay high. The state projects a shortage of $167.8 cardinal successful 2026-2027 and $119.5 cardinal successful 2027-2028.

Burridge said the rising costs are being driven by colonisation growth, an aging population, and ongoing planetary commercialized uncertainties — factors she noted are besides affecting different parts of Canada.

"We're nary antithetic than different provinces retired there," she told reporters.

The fund was released amid increasing planetary instability, including rising governmental tensions and commercialized conflicts, with U.S. president Donald Trump launching a commercialized warfare with Canada and galore different countries astir the world.

"We cognize the satellite astir america is uncertain," Burridge said. "Today, we instrumentality different measurement guardant — securing our aboriginal by strengthening our province, investing successful the radical who marque it great, and ensuring a strong, sustainable aboriginal for all."

Supporting the system and workforce

To code the uncertainty, the state is introducing a scope of taxation reforms that volition prevention Island businesses a full of $9.3 cardinal to reinvest successful their operations, Burridge said. These see raising the tiny concern taxation threshold by $100,000 to $600,000, and lowering the firm income taxation complaint from 16 per cent to 15 per cent.

In addition, state volition beryllium addressing idiosyncratic income taxes. This includes instantly expanding the basal idiosyncratic exemption to $14,650. Then in January of adjacent year, the state volition rise each 5 taxation brackets by 1.8 per cent and further summation the basal idiosyncratic magnitude to $15,000.

The state besides announced a minimum wage summation to $17 per hour, with details to beryllium released soon, the concern curate said.

Targeted investments to enactment the system and workforce include:

• $42 cardinal for tariff and commercialized response, including $32 cardinal for a Tariff and Trade Contingency Fund.
• $10 cardinal for a Tariff Working Capital Program.
• $3.6 cardinal successful oyster manufacture supports, including a $3-million contingency money to respond to MSX challenges.
• $1.5 cardinal for reskilling and upskilling workers.
• $353,000 for expanding aerial access.
• $100,000 to enactment young farmers done the P.E.I. Young Farmers Association.

Post-secondary students volition spot accrued fiscal aid, with the George Coles and Marion L. Reid bursaries each rising to $3,500.

Health-care investments

Health attraction continues to beryllium a apical spending priority. Health P.E.I.'s fund volition summation from $971.8 cardinal successful 2024-2025 to astir $1.1 cardinal for the existent fund year.

The Department of Health and Wellness volition besides spot an summation from $153 cardinal to $166.4 million.

Highlights include:

• $16.8 cardinal for the caller Faculty of Medicine based astatine UPEI.
• $21 cardinal for semipermanent care, including expanding per diem rates for backstage semipermanent attraction homes, and backing to acceptable 103 caller semipermanent attraction beds, with plans to adhd an further 175 caller semipermanent beds successful the future.
• $4.8 cardinal to grow virtual care.
• $4 cardinal for enactment programs designed to assistance seniors enactment successful their homes longer, including the Self-Managed Care Program and the At Home Caregiver Benefit Program.
• $1.1 cardinal to grow health-care grooming enactment programs.
• $650,000 to prosecute internationally trained nurses.
• $500,000 to grow the Student Nursing Employment Program.
• $215,000 for a caller upskilling pathway for LPNs to go RNs. This brings to a full concern of $818,000.
• A caller Practice Readiness Assessment Program volition assistance certify up to 40 internationally trained physicians annually.

Education

Spending for the Department of Education and Early Years volition emergence from $104.1 cardinal to $117.3 million.

Key investments include:

• $10.5 cardinal for aboriginal puerility care, including creating oregon transitioning 190 affordable spaces. This volition besides see the continuation of the aboriginal years centre enlargement indebtedness and assistance programme and expanding wages for aboriginal years centres' staff.
• $9.2 cardinal for investing successful the acquisition system, including caller backing for staffing, giving teachers much prep time, and expanding the fig of front-line schoolhouse staff.
• $2.5 cardinal successful further enactment for the School Food Program, bringing the full to $7.5 cardinal this fiscal year.

Investment into communities, infrastructure

As the state is launching a reappraisal of the Municipal Government Act, it has entered into an statement to supply interim backing to municipalities, and $5.5 cardinal volition beryllium earmarked for this.

Other cardinal investments include:

• $3.2 cardinal for the assemblage sector, including accrued backing to nutrient banks.
• $3 cardinal to boost the Home Heating Assistance Program to $7.7 million.
• $810,000 to make a Joint Enforcement Team to support communities safe, arsenic police combat mid-level cause trafficking and organized crime.
• $160,000 to support affordable transit, including escaped transit for students and subsidized passes for each Islanders.