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N.B. Liberals table budget with historic $1.4B deficit, rise in health spending

  • Lyndsay Armstrong

    Lyndsay Armstrong

  • Canadian Press

  • March 17, 2026

New Brunswick Finance and Treasury Board Minister Rene Legacy speaks at a press conference prior to delivering the provincial budget in the Legislature in Fredericton, on Tuesday March 17, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Stephen MacGillivray

FREDERICTON -- The New Brunswick government says its investments in health care have helped push the budget into a record deficit.

Introduced on Tuesday, the budget's $1.4-billion deficit is the largest in the province's history, according to Finance Department staff.

That's largely due to health-care spending, which will rise by $710 million, or 17.4 per cent.

Finance Minister Rene Legacy said health care was the centrepiece of the $15.6-billion budget.

"This is a budget that reflects the voices of New Brunswickers," Legacy told reporters. "It is a budget that makes generational investments in health care and lays the foundation for a sustainable and prosperous future for all."

However, other sectors of the government are facing cuts, notably the civil service, which is scheduled to be trimmed by 12 per cent over three years. The government says it expects to reach those job reductions through attrition, projecting to save $100 million over the three-year period.

The Liberal government of Premier Susan Holt also says it is looking to raise revenues to help the province's finances. The government says it will add a toll by 2028 for out-of-province vehicles on the Trans-Canada Highway by Aulac, N.B., estimating it would bring in $10.4 million annually.

Legacy says the next two budgets will be in deficit, forecasting a $1.3-billion shortfall in the 2027-28 fiscal year and a $1.26-billion deficit the following year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2026.