View From the Legislature

The NDP were in no hurry to release the province’s most recent financial update, and it quickly became clear why. On the last Friday of September, Manitoba’s NDP finance minister informed the public that the books are now closed for the fiscal year ended March 31st and that the deficit had reached nearly $2 billion. That represented a somber record for a non-pandemic year.

For those Manitobans who follow the finances of the province, they may remember that it wasn’t that long ago when the books were not only balanced, but a surplus was registered. In fact, it was only the previous fiscal year, 2022-23, that Manitoba finished with a $373 million surplus. Combined with the fact that Manitoba also had the third fastest growing economy in Canada, there were reasons to be optimistic about the fiscal future of the province. Both the surplus and the fast-growing economy were achieved under the previous Progressive Conservative government.

Manitoba’s NDP made assurances during the election campaign that they would work to control spending, balance the budget and not increase taxes. No doubt these commitments were made because many Manitobans remembered the last time the NDP were in government and the ballooning debt and increases to taxes they oversaw. But after one year back in office, and a record deficit under their watch, Manitobans may be wondering if a repeat fiscal performance by the NDP is coming.

Already the NDP have set the stage for significant school tax increases in the years to come. At the same time, they have been busy cancelling school projects leaving students, in Grunthal for example, short of classroom space. The cuts to schools and surgery options under the NDP have left many wondering how they could have still amassed a two-billion-dollar deficit. Where is all the money going if schools and surgeries are no longer a priority?

Looking ahead, the NDP have said that they would like to see the budget balanced. But they have not produced a credible plan to achieve this goal. In fact, next year, despite record levels of federal transfer payments, a deficit of almost $800 million is still projected. All of this means that the cost Manitoba pays to service its debt has increased to $2.1 billion and every Manitoban owes $22,212 of the accumulated debt on a per capita basis.

We only have to look to Ottawa to see the impact of a government that believes that budgets will balance themselves. Ultimately, there is a cost, through higher taxes or inflation (or both), to uncontrolled government spending. In Manitoba under the last NDP government, that was most evident by the increase in the PST along with a host of other tax increases.

Manitobans were promised by the NDP that they would exercise financial responsibility while targeting spending on the things that matter most to Manitobans. After one year, a record deficit, cuts to schools and surgeries, and looming tax increases, it doesn’t seem like a kept promise. It looks more like a flash back to the last NDP government.