Provincial and Territorial Update – March 21, 2026
An overview on Provincial and Territorial updates for the week of March 21 2026. Written by Wes McLean.
New Brunswick
- The Susan Holt government plans to add six billion dollars to the province’s debt over its next three years in power, according to its latest budget. While the premier and finance minister had warned of “difficult decisions” ahead of budget day, the spending plan issued Tuesday instead looks to make those choices over the longer term. Holt had said difficult choices were necessary to curb the deficit, which hit a record high $1.37-billion at the end of this fiscal year.
- Organizations representing provincial veterinarians in New Brunswick say their members are concerned, and some are considering leaving the province after the government announced the end of public veterinary services. The province said on Tuesday that the provincial veterinary field service would be phased out over the next three years and replaced by the private sector. The service includes large-animal veterinarians, equine services and a provincial laboratory.
- The province is looking to eliminate time limits for victims of intimate partner violence seeking civil justice. A bill tabled Wednesday would reopen the door for victims to take civil action — even if they previously missed the window. In 2010, the province removed a two-year time limit to file civil court claims for offences including trespass to the person, assault and battery of a sexual nature.
- N.B. Power’s ongoing rate hearing has been told that plans to spend $88.4 million over three years on outside experts to help fix chronic reliability problems at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station might not show results immediately, but will pay off eventually. “The intent of the agreement is to establish consistent, sustainable, long-term performance, not to make short-term gains,” said Jason Nouwens about a contract the utility has struck with Laurentis Energy Partners Inc.
Nova Scotia
- Nova Scotia PC MLA Rick Burns says he and his wife are victims of blackmail after hackers accessed and shared videos and intimate images on his personal devices this week. “Criminals hacked my email, the hackers requested money and my family refused payment,” Burns, who represents Hammonds Plains-Lucasville, said in a news release Wednesday evening. “Because we refused payment, the hackers accessed files on my devices. As punishment, personal images and videos of my wife and I were accessed and shared without our consent.”
- Nova Scotia’s seniors and long-term care minister is calling on nursing home administrators to make direct appeals to their employees amid protracted contract talks with the union representing workers at more than 50 sites. In a letter dated March 13, obtained by CBC News, Barbara Adams writes that she’s reaching out because of her concerns about contract negotiations with workers represented by CUPE Nova Scotia.
- There is such demand from the public to tell MLAs what they think about the Financial Measures Act that the chair of the Nova Scotia Legislature’s committee on public bills has added a third day for presentations. The bill was slated to go before the committee next Monday and Tuesday, but additional time was added for next Wednesday following the response from the public. An official with the office of the legislative counsel said about 210 people initially indicated an interest in speaking, although not all people decided to keep their names on the list. All 107 available slots for next week have been filled.
- New Brunswick’s plan to put a new toll near the Nova Scotia border is not going over well with students, truckers and others who cross between provinces every day. “It feels like we’re almost betrayed,” Alex Poplar, a student from River Hebert, N.S., said. If Premier Susan Holt follows through on her government’s plan to increase revenue laid out in the provincial budget, there will be a new toll in place in Aulac by 2028. Only non-New Brunswick vehicles will have to pay to pass through the heavy traffic and trade corridor. “We do feel like we pay into New Brunswick,” Poplar, who travels to Mount Allison University six days a week, said.
Prince Edward Island
- The spring sitting of the P.E.I. Legislature will prorogue for a second time — but this time just by a day. The delay is to accommodate MLAs who want to go to the funeral of former MLA and cabinet minister Mark McLane, who died this week after dealing with a serious medical issue. “Prince Edward Island has a small legislature, and while we may come to the House with different political stripes, there is a shared respect among members that is especially evident in moments like this,” said Premier Rob Lantz in a statement Friday.
- Farming is a massive industry on P.E.I., and some farmers say Canadian Agricultural Safety Week is a good time to remind people about the risks of the job and how to stay safe. The annual campaign — which runs this year until March 21 — encourages farm workers to check their equipment, know the hazards, wear the right gear and be careful around large machinery. “Sometimes you think you’re maybe invincible, but you’re not,” said Darryl Wallace, co-owner of Wallace Family Farms in Cascumpec. “There’s been a lot of accidents over the years, over my lifetime, that you’ve seen and heard about, so you don’t want to be one of those stories.”
- About 125 people came out for a town hall meeting on health care in Charlottetown Monday night. At the Liberal-sponsored event, Health and Wellness Minister Cory Deagle made two major health-care announcements. Deagle told the crowd the province is set to announce that it is adding 200 private long-term care beds. That will cost about $100 million. Deagle said that should help free up badly needed hospital beds that are currently tied up with people who are not sick, but are waiting for a long-term care bed.
- Former Health P.E.I. CEO Michael Gardam said he was not surprised to see Melanie Fraser leave the role, and said the province’s health-care system is being undermined by political interference. In an interview with CBC News, Gardam describes a governance structure he calls “a mess,” where health leaders are pulled in multiple directions by politicians who “typically have no knowledge of health-care delivery.”
Newfoundland and Labrador
- A vice-president with Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services (NLHS) says she doesn’t anticipate relying any less on retired nurses, even as vacancies fill up. “We will always have — even when our vacancies are, you know, at rock bottom levels — a need for an on-demand workforce,” said Debbie Molloy, vice-president of human resources for NLHS. “I do foresee that we will continue to use some retired nurses. That’s perfectly natural and normal, I think in an operation like ours.”
- Five Newfoundland and Labrador companies are getting a share of $16 million from Ottawa to help scale up Canada’s defence capabilities. Minister of Fisheries and St. John’s East MP Joanne Thompson announced the loans, which must be repaid, are going toward PAL Aerospace, Virtual Marine, Solace Power, CoLab AI and Rutter Inc. “Canada is choosing strength. It’s choosing to invest in communities and companies that support a collective strength,” Thompson said during the Thursday morning announcement at the PAL Aerospace hangar in St. John’s.
- In the wake of a blistering Auditor General report on social housing in Newfoundland and Labrador, advocates are calling for action to address the problem before it gets worse. Earlier this week, Denise Hanrahan released a report on social housing in the province, where she found that demand is up, the number of units is down, and oversight of supply and planning by the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC) has been lacking. End Homelessness St. John’s executive director Doug Pawson said it’s “alarming” to see how fragmented the system is and the lack of planning.
- The Innu Nation of Labrador is calling for a judge to give the green light to a proposed class-action lawsuit seeking compensation for Labrador day school survivors. At the Supreme Court in St. John’s on Tuesday, lawyer Will Hiscock said he believes a class-action suit is the only correct path for justice to be served. “It’s the only possibility for justice for so many of the victims of that school system. It’s the only way the community will be represented, not simply individuals,” Hiscock, representing the Innu Nation, told reporters.
Quebec
- Quebec Premier Francois Legault is dismissing his Ontario counterpart’s concerns over Quebec’s electric vehicle mandate. Ontario Premier Doug Ford sent letters to Legault and British Columbia Premier David Eby earlier this week saying their EV targets are making the country’s auto sector less competitive with the United States. Ford says the limits on gas-powered cars risk pushing automakers and jobs south of the border, where there are fewer restrictions.
- François Legault says he intends to serve out his term as a member of the National Assembly for the riding of L’Assomption after handing over the reins to the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) to his successor on April 12. “For him, it is first and foremost a matter of responsibility toward his constituents,” the premier’s office said in a written statement sent to The Canadian Press on Friday. “He did not want the people of L’Assomption to be left without a member at the National Assembly mid-term. He also sees this period as a way to bring his political career to a close.”
- Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard says he wants answers about allegations of fundraising irregularities during the 2025 Liberal leadership race, but insists the party as a whole should not be painted with the same brush. “I embrace the history of the Quebec Liberal party; there are elements with which I am less happy, but, for now, we are dealing with allegations,” Milliard told reporters in Quebec City on Tuesday. The comments came on the heels of a La Presse report on Tuesday that anti-corruption police doubt the authenticity of leaked text messages that appear to indicate a cash-for-votes scheme in the Quebec Liberal leadership race.
- The CAQ leadership race has resulted in the recruitment of just over 5,500 new members. According to preliminary figures released by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), 20,576 members will be eligible to vote for their next leader. At the time the race was launched, the party indicated that it had approximately 15,000 members. The deadline to become a member and have the right to vote for the leadership was March 13. However, it is not possible to know for whom these members intend to vote between Christine Fréchette and Bernard Drainville.
Ontario
- Ontario is moving to outlaw the resale of tickets for more than their original value ahead of FIFA World Cup games in Toronto, which are expected to draw significant demand. “We’re putting ticket scalpers on notice: Your days of ripping people off are done,” Premier Doug Ford said in a post on X Friday. Proposed changes to the Tickets Sales Act of 2017 would make it illegal for tickets to concerts, cultural, sports, and other live events in Ontario to be resold for more than their original cost, the province said in a release.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford is congratulating a Vaughan resident who shot an intruder, saying he should have fired more shots at him. “As for the person who was defending his family, he was a legal gun owner, stored properly — congratulations. Yeah, I’m glad you shot the guy. Teach the rest of these robbers,” Ford said at an unrelated news conference Wednesday when asked about the incident. He added, “These guys, they need to be shot, as far as I’m concerned. They’re coming through the front door to hurt your family.”
- Key justifications Premier Doug Ford has given for his government’s plan to eliminate the public’s right to access top policy-makers’ records don’t reflect how the system to compel government documents actually works, according to the independent accountability office that oversees it. Ontario’s almost 40-year-old Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) shapes the system that allows the public to access provincial government records that would otherwise remain secret. The freedom of information (FOI) system is an important tool for many journalists, lawyers, activists, and researchers, but it is also widely used.
- A group that helped organize the Toronto Al-Quds Day rally is threatening to sue the premier if he does not retract and apologize for statements it argues are defamatory. The Al Quds Committee is accusing Doug Ford of defaming the group through statements posted online in the lead up to last Saturday’s Al-Quds Day rally in Toronto and is calling in a March 18 letter addressed to the premier for him to “formally retract all the posts and publicly apologize” within a week. Ford released a video on Friday, March 13, announcing that he was directing Attorney General Doug Downey to file an injunction to stop a planned Al-Quds Day rally the following day.
Manitoba
- Manitoba’s NDP government says it intends to hold Palliser Furniture accountable for laying off workers in Winnipeg after the province provided a $15-million loan guarantee to a Palliser-associated company. In August 2025, Premier Wab Kinew’s cabinet guaranteed the repayment of up to $15 million worth of Access Credit Union debt incurred by Lexington Real Estate Holdings. That investment company is directed by Arthur DeFehr, whose family started the company that would become Winnipeg-based Palliser Furniture.
- Manitoba Hydro rates will continue to increase over the next two years as the provincial energy regulator has made a final decision about what the Crown corporation can charge for electricity. In a decision issued late Thursday afternoon, the Public Utilities Board determined Hydro’s general revenue rate will rise by 3.5 per cent in 2027 and then by three per cent in 2028. The board also finalized the four per cent interim rate hike for 2026. Hydro ordered the interim hike to address drought conditions that have severely impacted the Crown corporation’s bottom line.
- Manitoba’s NDP government plans to build a personal care home in Winnipeg’s Bridgwater neighbourhood, about 2½ years after taking office and axing its predecessor’s existing plans to do something similar. The NDP announced $95 million for the 140-bed personal care home in south Winnipeg on Thursday, as the party teased that more support for seniors will be in next week’s provincial budget. Three builds that were already announced — in Lac du Bonnet, Arborg and Winnipeg’s Transcona neighbourhood — will add 237 beds to the system.
- Manitoba’s finance minister says the NDP is funding education adequately, yet won’t acknowledge that some school divisions are raising taxes because they feel provincial funding hasn’t kept pace. Manitoba is forecasting $1.02 billion in education property tax revenues this fiscal year, according to the province’s second-quarter financial update. That’s up from $833 million that was collected in 2024-25, according to public accounts, and would represent a nearly 23 per cent increase in education property tax revenues in one year.
Saskatchewan
- The province’s education minister has denied accusations that political favouritism played a role in plans to build a new school in Premier Scott Moe’s constituency. “None. None whatsoever,” Everett Hindley said on Thursday. The NDP Opposition spent a portion of the first post-budget question period accusing Hindley of pushing the construction of a school in Shellbrook, Sask., ahead of schools that are in much worse condition. Shellbrook, located 139 km north of Saskatoon, is part of the Rosthern-Shellbrook constituency that Moe represents.
- The province named affordability as one of its main priorities in the 2026-27 budget, increasing social services and assistance spending to more than $1.9 billion. That is $87 million more than social services and assistance got last year, representing a 4.7 per cent increase and making it the third-biggest spending area for the coming fiscal year. “We’re going to protect the most vulnerable in our society,” Social Services Minister Terry Jenson said.
- Saskatchewan expects to run deficits until the end of the decade, according to the 2026-27 provincial budget tabled by Finance Minister Jim Reiter on Wednesday. The estimates are headlined by a projected $819.4-million deficit in the upcoming fiscal year and a newly forecasted $1.21-billion deficit for last year. The province says it is targeting a return to the black in 2030-2031, when it projects a $124.1-million surplus driven by “sustained economic growth,” program adjustments and a reduction in the provincial workforce through attrition and not filling vacant positions.
- Premier Scott Moe called on NDP Leader Carla Beck to fire newly-appointed campaign manager Jeremy Nolais after he sent what Moe called a “dangerous” fundraising email to NDP members over the weekend. In documents obtained by CBC News, Nolais encouraged members to think of the faces of the premier and ministers whom “you hate so much. Scott Moe. Tim McLeod. Jeremy Harrison. Jeremy Cockrill.” Premier Scott Moe addressed the NDP’s email at Monday’s legislative session, calling it a promotion of hatred.
Alberta
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she travelled on a private plane during a visit to Saudi Arabia last fall to meet with local government officials, following an invitation from a member of the Saudi royal family. The premier’s office hasn’t discussed the flight publicly before, but Smith confirmed it at a legislature committee meeting on Tuesday when she answered questions about the Alberta government’s new budget.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Tuesday her long-term goal is to be able to balance the province’s books even with moderate oil prices. In about 10 years, she said, she’d like Alberta to bring spending in line with revenues that US$60-per-barrel oil would bring to provincial coffers. The latest Alberta budget, tabled last month, projected a $9.4-billion deficit in the upcoming fiscal year based in part on the projected price of the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate averaging US$60.50 per barrel.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is seeking security clearance to receive briefings on foreign interference in her province, but the leader of the Opposition says she shouldn’t be trusted with it. The premier told the Legislative Assembly of Alberta this week that she has started the process to get a higher security clearance so she can receive briefings from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). “I would like to know if there is any foreign interference happening in our province,” Smith said during question period on Wednesday.
- Alberta has introduced legislation that will impose additional restrictions on medical assistance in dying (MAID). The legislation tabled on Wednesday, if passed, would prohibit those with mental illness as their “sole underlying condition” from accessing MAID. To access MAID, an individual’s “natural death” has to happen within 12 months and would introduce mandatory sanctions against health care professionals who’ve violated the legislation. Premier Danielle Smith said her government is prepared to defend the bill if it is challenged in court and says she fully anticipates the legislation will become law in Alberta. She said MAID should be limited to terminal illness.
British Columbia
- B.C. Premier David Eby has signalled he won’t support the federal government’s move to temporarily increase rural employers’ allowances for temporary foreign workers, saying there should be a pathway to permanent residency instead. It comes after an event on Monday on the Sunshine Coast where the local MP re-announced a move to allow rural employers to have up to 15 per cent of their workforce be low-wage temporary foreign workers (TFW).
- British Columbia’s credit rating has been downgraded, but Premier David Eby said the government made a “very clear choice” between making cuts to “meet a credit rating” and “prioritizing British Columbians.” “We have to meet people where they’re at,” Eby said at an unrelated event in Metro Vancouver. “They are sicker, and they stay in the hospital longer. We need to ensure high-quality health care for British Columbians. We have to build these projects to get our province moving.” Moody’s Ratings said Thursday it has lowered B.C.’s baseline credit rating to Aa1 from Aa2, among other changes in creditworthiness.
- In politics – as in other aspects of life – when it rains, it often pours. And on a soggy day in Maple Ridge, B.C. Premier David Eby faced the deluge of negative headlines he and the NDP have faced in recent months while taking questions at an unrelated news conference. “I understand why British Columbians are frustrated, but I can assure them that there is no place else that I would rather be than in this province right now to face these huge challenges,” Eby insisted when CTV News asked about a new poll from the Angus Reid Institute. That firm has found Eby’s support has dropped from 53 per cent approval this time last year to a new low of 37 per cent.
- The B.C. NDP would win if a provincial election were held today, though one potential B.C. Conservative leader appears best positioned to challenge that lead, new polling from Mainstreet Research suggests. Under the current interim leader, Trevor Halford, the B.C. Conservatives trail the David Eby-led NDP by almost two points among decided voters, 38.6 per cent to 36.8 per cent, the polling company found. “With the BC Conservatives in the midst of a leadership race, the provincial ballot is less clear. Under the current interim leader, the NDP continues to lead, but with possible contenders, David Eby loses the advantage,” Quito Maggi, president and CEO of Mainstreet Research, said in a media release. “With BC Conservative Peter Milobar at the helm, the BC Conservatives would secure a clear majority, based largely on gains made in the Lower Mainland.”
Northwest Territories
- Two MLAs and the Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation chief say they welcome the territory’s new trespassing legislation because they believe it will help address concerns about uninvited guests intruding in people’s homes and refusing to leave. The Trespass Act, which passed unanimously in the assembly March 6, makes it an offence for a person to remain in a building after the “lawful” occupant of a building, like a renter or property owner, asks them to leave. Forthcoming regulations will spell out penalties and allow peace officers and private security guards to arrest trespassers, according to a government report.
Yukon
- When Yukon Premier Currie Dixon tabled his government’s first full budget on Thursday, he put it bluntly: the territory is spending more than it can afford, leaving it in a “dangerous financial position.” The budget projects a nearly $82-million deficit, which Dixon called a new record for the territory. The territory is also approaching its borrowing limit from the federal government, the premier said. The tabling of the budget marked the start of the spring sitting for the territory’s 21 MLAs.
Nunavut
- Premier John Main says the Government of Nunavut was not asked if it wanted new military bases in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay, which the federal government is building. On March 12, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced tens of billions of dollars for new military bases in Iqaluit, Cambridge Bay and Rankin Inlet. “We were not put in a position to say ‘yea or nay’ regarding additional military infrastructure in Nunavut,” Main said while addressing reporters in the lobby of the Nunavut Legislative Assembly on March 13.