Pardy tables Newfoundland And Labrador budget with $688.5-million deficit
Newfoundland and Labrador tabled an $11.5-billion budget on Wednesday that projects a $688.5-million deficit for 2026-27. Finance Minister Craig Pardy said the government has to bring the gap down while still funding health care and meeting cost-of-living pressures.
The province’s new spending plan, titled “Opportunity for All of Us,” also sets aside money for tax breaks, more health-care spending and support for the oil industry. It includes funds to pay off a $750-million line of credit used by the provincial health authority.
Craig Pardy budget plan
Pardy told reporters, “We’ve got to plan to get (the deficit) down” and “But we have to do it with the balance that we would address health care and the cost of living.” He promised to make a plan this year to chip away at the deficit.
The Progressive Conservative government tabled the budget after unseating the Liberals in a provincial election last fall. It is the first budget under the new government, and it does not include a plan to balance the books.
Lela Evans health spending
Health Minister Lela Evans said the department is earmarking $6.5-million for a team of 25 Newfoundland and Labrador nurses who could replace private-agency travel nurses. She said the health authority spent $86-million on travel nurses in the last fiscal year and has $38-million allotted for them this year.
Evans also blamed the line of credit on “chronic underfunding” by the previous Liberal government. “We really have to understand what we’ve been left with,” she said.
Debt and Hydro-Québec
By the end of 2026-27, the province expects net debt to reach $20.8-billion, with interest and other debt fees costing an estimated $1.2-billion. That amount will account for roughly 10 per cent of total expenses.
The five-year forecast includes several years of escalating deficits of more than $1-billion, beginning in 2027-28. Officials said the shortfalls are driven largely by discounting the energy deal and increasing health-care spending.
Liberal Leader John Hogan said the draft energy agreement with Hydro-Québec was retroactive to 2025. “We would be getting the check for about $1.4-billion from Quebec,” he said. “Not only would we get rid of the deficit that exists today, we would have a massive surplus.”
The budget instead relies on income tied to a still-developing green hydrogen sector and Equinor’s proposed Bay du Nord offshore oil development. For readers watching the province’s finances, the immediate signal is that the government is choosing to absorb a large deficit now rather than pair the budget with cuts that would close it.
