Five highlights from Newfoundland and Labrador’s budget

By: The Canadian Press Posted: 12:00 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026 Last Modified: 1:35 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026

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ST. JOHN'S - Newfoundland and Labrador’s Progressive Conservative government tabled its financial plan for the 2026-27 fiscal year on Wednesday. The budget forecasts a deficit of $688.5 million and a $20.8 billion net debt by the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year.

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ST. JOHN’S – Newfoundland and Labrador’s Progressive Conservative government tabled its financial plan for the 2026-27 fiscal year on Wednesday. The budget forecasts a deficit of $688.5 million and a $20.8 billion net debt by the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Here are five key points from Finance Minister Craig Pardy’s budget.

1. The province will spend $5.4 billion on health care — 42 per cent of its entire expenses — including more than $47 million to create 200 new long-term care beds.

A fishing boat leaves St. John's, N.L., harbour on Thursday, May 6, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly

2. It is also spending $6.5 million to create a team of 25 local nurses who can do the work of so-called “travel nurses,” who are contracted from private agencies to fill temporary vacancies in health-care facilities.

3. The government is hiking the basic personal amount exempt from income tax to $15,000, at a cost of $45 million in the current fiscal year and $91 million in the next year. Officials said the change would put more than $300 in the pockets of about 285,000 tax filers each year.

4. Newfoundland and Labrador’s real gross domestic product reached nearly $34 billion in the previous fiscal year, and it is expected to grow by 5.5 per cent, driven by an increase in mining and oil production. Officials said it was among the highest projected increases in the country.

5. Oil production is expected to hit 97.8 million barrels in 2026-27, an increase of 12 per cent over last year. Oil royalties are forecast to account for 19 per cent of the province’s revenues.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2026.

Note to readers:This is a corrected version of the story. A previous version said the provincial GDP was expected to reach nearly $34 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year. In fact, it reached nearly $34 billion in the 2025-26 fiscal year.