Tories insist Manitoba budget unaffordable

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This article was published 21/03/2025 (192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The NDP government’s budget counts on cash-strapped Manitobans paying higher taxes and spending more during a trade war and is “completely out of touch,” the opposition said Friday as debate on the document began.

“The very foundation of the NDPs’ budget (Thursday) is nearly $1 billion more in higher taxes hitting Manitoba families and businesses hard,” said Progressive Conservative MLA Kathleen Cook, pointing to $292 million more in income taxes, $154 million more in business taxes, $178 million more in retail sales taxes, $182 million more in property taxes and $81 million more in “assorted other taxes” and fees.

“That’s $887 million,” Cook said. “Why is the NDP hitting Manitobans with nearly a billion more in tax hikes during a cost of living crisis?”

Deputy Premier Uzoma Asagwara said the government is proud of its budget and plans for “historic investment in building our province — $3.7 billion to build, build, build and bring people together during this really tumultuous time.”

They stood in for Premier Wab Kinew, who was in Ottawa Friday to attend a first ministers meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Finance Minister Adrien Sala introduced his budget on Thursday as a battle plan for a trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump. The U.S. imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum on March 12 and most other products will be subject to a 25 per cent levy starting April 2.

On Thursday, Manitoba pork and canola producers were hit by 100 per cent tariffs imposed by China.

Sala said his budget’s $3.7-billion building plan is part of “Trump-proofing” the province and avoiding a recession. The budget includes hundreds of millions in supports for industry, businesses and families to get through a trade war and retaliatory tariffs, while projecting revenues to increase over the next three years, resulting in a $10-million surplus in 2027-28.

The Kinew government insists it will be able to balance books by then, even though it projects a $794-billion deficit that could climb as high as $1.9 billion if the trade war escalates.

“A balanced budget promise is either cynical politics or delusional,” said University of Manitoba economics Prof. Gregory Mason.

“With a third of our budget coming from federal transfers that are likely to fall, weak national and provincial economies, and the need to boost health-care spending, any move to even stabilize the deficit will require very painful cuts this, or any government, would find extremely difficult to execute,” Mason said Friday.

Sala was asked Friday to explain the government’s plan to balance the books at a Manitoba Chambers of Commerce event.

“We’re ensuring that dollars are spent where they need to be spent by focusing it on services that centre on Manitobans. For example, in health care one thing that we’ve done, I think that’s been really important, is being very clear with health regions that we want to see investments at the administrative level be spent on the front line. Our minister of health has directed that eight per cent of spending at that admin level — “suits” — be spent on scrubs,” Sala said.

“That’s a great example of how we’re doing that work of staying on that path of responsibility while delivering on the things that Manitobans care about,” the finance minister said.

In the legislature, the PC finance critic asked “what cloud is the NDP living on?”

“They are completely out of touch with the economic realities that Manitobans are facing today,” MLA Lauren Stone said.

“The entire budget hinges on half a billion in additional taxation the minister says he’s forecasting, (while) workers are looking at layoffs, businesses are looking at all kinds of supply chain contracts,” she said.

Stone asked the government to justify raising taxes at time when more support is needed.

Asagwara shot back: “Business leaders love this budget, the chambers (of commerce) love this budget, Manitobans love this budget.”

The deputy premier questioned Stone’s loyalty to Canada in the trade war after she said Thursday she is “not a fan of the government interfering in Manitobans’ purchasing decisions” regarding rebates on Tesla and Chinese electric vehicles being nixed in the budget.

“The NDP have not been taking the economy and cost of living seriously since being elected,” Stone said during budget debate.

“Unemployment has increased to over six per cent, Manitoba is leading the nation in food and housing inflation. We are last in the country for energy, mining and forestry investment,” Stone said, adding the economy was in decline before the tariffs took effect.

“The NDP have been taxing us out of competitiveness, they’ve been spending beyond their means and now we’re hitting an economic crisis and the NDP is trying to play catch-up on the backs of Manitobans,” said Stone.

When asked outside the chamber how a PC government would cuts spending, the finance critic dodged the question.

— With files from Gabrielle Piché

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca