Nova Scotia budget expected to focus on health care, cost of living

Finance and Treasury Board Minister Allan MacMaster is pictured during a press conference in Halifax on Thursday, March 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia's Progressive Conservative government will today table its third budget since being elected in August 2021.

The past two budgets have focused heavily on bolstering the province's ailing health-care system, and Finance Minister Allan MacMaster says that focus will remain.

Premier Tim Houston says health-care spending accounted for about $4.5 billion when the government came to power, and that figure will be closer to $6 billion when the 2024-25 budget is tabled today.

The premier announced Wednesday that the budget would include $7.2 million for diabetes care.

MacMaster says there will also be help for people struggling with the rising cost of living, but he wouldn't be specific about the measures planned.

Last spring's budget forecast a $278.9-million deficit, and a fiscal update by MacMaster in December projected that increased tax revenue from a growing population had trimmed that figure to $264.3 million.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 29, 2024.

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