The 2026-27 Nova Scotia Budget
Nova Scotia will be awash in red ink for the foreseeable future, as the Minister of Finance tabled the 2026-27 provincial budget in the Legislature earlier today. The prediction is for a $1.2 billion deficit in this fiscal year, slightly lower than the $1.3 billion deficit that the province is predicting for the current fiscal year.
The Overall Plan
The overall planned spend for 2026-27 is $18.9 billion, and real GDP growth is projected to be 1.5 percent, down 0.3 percent from the current year.
Early on in his budget address, Finance Minister John Lohr sought to differentiate his government’s approach from that of the previous Liberal government, and noted, “Fiscal balance sheets improved, but Nova Scotians’ real-life experiences told a different story.”
The province is placing an additional focus on economic development in the coming year, and has identified the following priority areas:
- Defence and aerospace
- Clean and conventional energy
- Natural resources – forestry and mining
- Fisheries and agri-food
- Housing and construction
- Artificial Intelligence and digital economy
Key expenditures outlined in the section entitled “Supporting Strategic Growth” include:
- $35.4 million in provincial funding to increase resilience to climate change, enhance infrastructure, support inclusive communities and create a clean-growth economy through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program
- $39 million to continue supporting Nova Scotia’s film industry
- $46.3 million to keep the small business tax rate at 1.5 per cent and increase the threshold to $700,000, providing savings to 19,000 Nova Scotian business owners in 2026-27. Nova Scotia is tied for the third lowest small business tax rate in Canada
The “Safe Communities” section contained these key spending plans:
- $33.4 million to expand the province’s trunked mobile radio network and for year three of the Cellular for Nova Scotia Program, a multi-year commitment to expand access to cellular service across the province (operating and capital)
- $40 million in continued provincial investment to support ongoing child care transformation
- $10.9 million more to help people facing gender-based violence with rent supplements, for a total of $13.8 million to support 1,000 supplements, part of more than $115 million in gender-based violence supports this year
- $59.1 million in new funding to transform disability support and transition adults with disabilities to community living as part of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Remedy
Various housing initiatives were detailed including the following:
- Implementing the First Time Homebuyers Pilot Program that provides eligible applicants with the ability to purchase a home with a two per cent down payment, through provincial credit unions
- $34.3 million to continue the Actions to Accelerate Skilled Trades Growth plan to create good-paying jobs in the skilled trades, including $5 million this year for the new Institute of Skilled Trades
- $30.8 million for post-secondary student housing for NSCC Cumberland and NSCC Kingstec
- $18.5 million to support shovel-ready, community-owned projects through the Affordable Housing Development Program
- $18.1 million provincial investment to address housing needs through the National Housing Strategy Action Plan with a focus on rapidly increasing supply, preserving existing affordable housing and transforming social housing
- $46.4 million to build new public housing units in Sackville, Glace Bay, Kentville, Middleton, Shubenacadie, Springhill, Windsor and Shannon Park, and maintain existing public housing units (operating and capital)
- $25.2 million to create 378 new supportive housing units across the province
- $9.6 million to create 75 more emergency shelter beds in Nova Scotia and enhance supports for Nova Scotians experiencing homelessness $5 million more, for a total of $77 million, to increase the number of active rent supplements to 10,500
Affordability measures were a focus of this budget, including:
- $681.2 million to continue tax saving measures will save the average Nova Scotian family more than $1,400 a year in 2026-27:
- keeping tax brackets indexed, ending bracket creep due to inflation
- increasing the basic personal amount and the age amount
- maintaining the HST at 14 per cent, after a one per cent cut
- continuing Your Energy Rebate, a program that keeps power bills lower
- $100.4 million this year for Nova Scotia school food programs, $96.7 million for the Nova Scotia School Lunch program and $3.7 million for the Student Healthy Eating Program (breakfast), offering all students nutritious and affordable meals
- $56.5 million in student assistance, an increase of $6.7 million, to help more than 40,000 students
- $32.5 million for the Heating Assistance Rebate Program, permanently increasing the amount to $400 per year to help Nova Scotians in need pay for home heating
- $24.7 million to continue MOST, a tax refund to young workers under 30 in high demand occupations, including skilled trades, film and video, and nurses
Healthcare as a focus
Healthcare has been a focus of this PC government, led by Premier Tim Houston, since first being elected in 202, along with related investments in mental health support and services for seniors. Key health expenditures include:
- $47.5 million to hire more paramedics and emergency medical responders across Nova Scotia, improving emergency care
- $47.1 million to pay more to hardworking family doctors, including those who take shifts in long-term care facilities, hospitals and emergency departments in Nova Scotia’s rural community hospitals
- $40.1 million for the Multidisciplinary Oncology Partnership, diagnosing cancers earlier, with better treatments for patients (operating and capital)
- $11.8 million to retain critical physician specialists
- $7.7 million to train and mentor medical students in communities across the province, helping train tomorrow’s doctors
- $9.6 million for digital tools to help Nova Scotians find and access the healthcare they need, and to make it easier for providers to communicate with each other
- Continued capital spending including the expansion of the Halifax Infirmary, and the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Health Care redevelopment.
Digital transformation investments include:
- $233.5 million to continue rolling out One Patient One Record across the province, creating one digital health record for every patient no matter where they are (operating and capital)
- $41.9 million for Enterprise Resource Planning System (SAP) modernization costs to increase government security (capital)
- $33.8 million for cybersecurity enhancements including establishing a new Cyber Security Office to improve cyber threat detection and response (operating and capital)
- 5.5 million for AlayaCare, a new provincial technology platform to better connect the home care sector to support front-line staff and provide quality care, faster for Nova Scotians $4.4 million investment to establish Artificial Intelligence capabilities, including developing and deploying AI-enabled applications
In a section entitled “Discipline without Retreat” the Minister’s address noted the measures that will be taken to reduce costs, while at the same time protecting health, education, housing, core public services and ensuring no tax increases. Over the next four years, the civil service will see cuts of five per cent every year. This is predicted to save $95 million by year four. The broader public service will see three per cent cuts.
Grant spending will decrease by $130.4 million, and the more constrained grant budget is focused on priority areas, including healthcare, housing, education and economic growth.