Drop in oil prices helps push N.L. deficit forecast up by 68 per cent to $626M

Newfoundland and Labrador Finance Minister Siobhan Coady delivers the budget in the House of Assembly in St. John's, N.L., on Tuesday, April 9, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly

ST. JOHN’S — The deficit forecast for Newfoundland and Labrador has been revised upward by almost 70 per cent, primarily due to a volatile oil market and a stronger Canadian dollar.

Finance Minister Siobhan Coady says the province’s revenues for the current fiscal year will be $254 million less than she forecast in the 2025-26 budget delivered in April.

She expects the province to finish the fiscal year in March 2026 with a deficit of $626 million, a rise of 68 per cent compared to the $372-million deficit anticipated in the budget.

The provincial net debt will climb to $19.7 billion, up from the $19.4 billion forecast in April.

Coady says crude prices have swung between US$60.31 and US$80.37 per barrel in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

As well, she says the budget estimated the Canada–U.S. exchange rate at 69.7 cents US, when it has risen to 73 cents US.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025

The Canadian Press