News

Manitoba Budget Announcement Highlights

On March 8, 2019 / News

The Manitoba government tabled its 2019 budget yesterday. Here is an overview of the highlights and some analysis in terms of what the spending blueprint could indicate regarding Manitoba’s political scene.

This is fourth budget of Premier Pallister’s first mandate. It calls for overall spending of $17.48 billion, an increase of 0.3% over the previous year. The summary deficit is forecast to arrive at $470 million and is projected to be at a $360 million in 2019-2020 – this compares with a projected deficit of nearly $1 billion after Pallister first took office.

Major highlights include:

• The big news of the day is the PC government announcing they will be cutting the PST by one percentage point, from 8% to 7%, thereby fulfilling a central promise from the 2016 election campaign. Most political observers expected this cut to happen in next year’s budget, at the earliest – and many felt it would not be possible at all, given the financial hit (approx. $350M).

 

• Health care continues to be a major focus. Overall spending is expected to rise by $50 million to a total budget of $6.65 billion; Pallister’s team continues to focus on “transformational” operational changes, mostly targeting the governance and operation of acute care and cancer treatment services.

 

• Funding for the Drug Program Information Network will be up by $16.7 million this year.

 

• The government has committed an additional $1.5 million in support for social impact bonds.

 

• The budget increases Pharmacare funding to $270 million — the highest level in Manitoba history.

 

We will work with the government to explore what the budget means for our members.

To view the full budget, click here.