Fifteen takeaways from Budget 2023 By: Chris Kitching Posted: 5:45 PM CST Tuesday, Mar. 7, 2023

In its final budget before the next election, Manitoba’s Tory government seeks to woo voters with tax cuts and measures to ease the financial squeeze on families and shore up health care.

The province claims its 2023 financial plan, unveiled Tuesday, will help the average family hold on to $5,500 of its earnings by 2024, despite increasing spending in all 19 departments.

The blueprint contains funding to tackle health-care backlogs and help the homeless and people with addictions or mental health crises.

Tens of millions have been earmarked to upgrade hospitals, build new schools and twin sections of major highways.

Here are 15 things to know about Budget 2023:

Personal income tax cut

Manitobans will not pay tax on the first $15,000 they earn in 2023, as the basic personal amount jumps from almost $11,000 to match the federal threshold.

The province said the savings will amount to up to $524 per person, with an additional 47,400 low-income taxpayers being removed from the tax rolls this year.

The personal income tax bracket thresholds will rise to $47,000 and $100,000 in 2024.

Health-care backlog still an issue

The government is still facing a backlog for diagnostic and surgical procedures, which was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It plans to spend $130 million to increase capacity at private and public facilities to reduce wait times.

The budget contains almost $8 billion for health care, an increase of about nine per cent from last year.

Payroll tax

The payroll tax will be eliminated for an additional 150 employers, with the threshold rising next year to $2.25 million from $2 million.

The tax will be reduced for the first time in 25 years in 2024 if the economy continues to perform as it has this year.

It is the first step toward phasing out the levy, the province said.

Support for Manitobans in crisis

Manitoba is in the second year of a five-year plan to help people with mental health issues.

This year’s spending of $17 million includes $1 million to expand crisis unit beds and tele-psychiatry services in rural and remote communities.

The province is committing $1.5 million to make it easier and faster for children and youth to get help, along with $345,000 for a suicide-prevention program.

New spaces for addictions treatment

Manitoba aims to open 1,000 new spaces for substance use and addictions treatment with $9 million in funding.

The cash is part of a five-year mental-health strategy.

A new rapid access to addictions medicine in Winnipeg will be Indigenous-led through a partnership with the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre.

More cash for homeless shelters

The province said it will spend more on overnight shelters, transitional housing and rent subsidies through a $51-million strategy to help the homeless.

An additional $18 million will be set aside to add affordable rental housing.

Wider coverage for insulin pumps

Pharmacare coverage for insulin pumps will be extended to all eligible adults with types 1 and 2 diabetes.

The province is allocating $120 million more for the pharmacare program in fiscal 2023-24.

Wage hike for disability service workers

The province will spend $81 million to increase the average wage to $19 per hour for disability service workers.

The budget document acknowledges low wages in government-funded Community Living and Children’s disABILITY Services have contributed to high turnover and burnout.

The total budget for disability services is $640 million, the highest ever, the government said.

$10-per-day child care

The budget formalizes plans to reduce regulated parent fees for child care to $10 per day, starting April 2, through $76 million in funding.

The plan was announced last week by Premier Heather Stefanson and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Manitoba hopes to create an additional 2,600 child-care spaces in non-profit facilities.

Education property tax rebate

The 10-year phase-out of school taxes continues, with the rebate for residential and farm properties increasing to 50 per cent from 37.5 per cent.

The average homeowner will save $774 in 2023, according to the government.

The rebate for other properties will be held at 10 per cent.

New schools for Winnipeg, rural areas

Manitoba will spend $268.5 million to build, renovate and expand schools as part of a commitment to build 20 new schools.

The budget covers plans for new schools in the Winnipeg and Seven Oaks school divisions, Sage Creek, Steinbach and Morden.

The university tuition rate is capped at 2.75 per cent, while college tuition increases are capped at $133 per program for Manitoba students.

New hospitals and upgrades

Capacity will be increased at nine hospitals or nursing stations through upgrades under a $1.2-billion, multi-year capital plan, the government said.

This includes work to the Health Sciences Centre adult emergency department, a renovated and expanded intensive care unit at Grace Hospital and redevelopment of Brandon Regional Health Centre’s ER.

New hospitals for Portage la Prairie and Neepawa were previously announced.

The province has committed money to replace the 277-bed Parkview Place Personal Care Home, which closed in April 2022 and was the site of a deadly COVID-19 outbreak.

Bracing for job openings

Manitoba expects to have 114,000 new job openings over the next five years, with three in five requiring some form of university training.

Plans to fill those positions include additional nursing seats, $10 million for other post-secondary education and training and $3 million for a pilot project to help newcomers get hired for in-demand jobs.

Funding for venture capital projects has been doubled to $100 million.

Highway twinning projects

In a bid to improve safety and boost trade, there are plans to twin sections of three major routes through a $2.5-billion, five-year plan for highway infrastructure.

The province had committed to dividing the Trans-Canada Highway between Falcon Lake and the Manitoba-Ontario boundary, following a series of Free Press articles last summer.

Part of Highway 3 (McGillivray Boulevard) will be twinned southwest of Winnipeg, while Highway 6 will be divided between the Perimeter and Grosse Isle.

Cash for provincial parks

New facilities and a trails strategy are part of $10 million in funding for provincial parks.

Some of the cash will go toward repairing damage caused by last year’s flooding, which was unprecedented in some areas, including the Whiteshell.

Manitoba had announced plans for a new online campground reservation portal to replace an older system that experienced glitches and frustrated campers.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching