Summary/Political Context
New Brunswick (N.B.) Finance and Treasury Board Minister René Legacy tabled the province’s $1.26 billion capital budget for 2025-26 on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. This year’s budget, titled Driving Change, Delivering Progress, is focused on investments in healthcare, education, housing, and economic resilience. This is the first budget after the election of Premier Susan Holt’s Liberal government.
The government is keeping with its election pledge by pushing forward with priority spending in areas like healthcare, housing, and education.
Themes
Tariffs
This budget establishes a $112 million tariff response package to support affected businesses and workers — including a business support program offered through Opportunities New Brunswick. It also introduces a new $50 million contingency allowance to protect against unforeseen events—including those related to the U.S. trade war.
Health Care
Healthcare spending is a notable source of expenditure growth, rising $75 million in fiscal 2025-26. The increased allocation comes largely from community care clinics ($30 million)—the centrepiece of Holt’s commitment to improve access to primary care—and physician compensation ($16 million). The budget includes no money for travel nurses following the Vitalité Health Network’s recent cancellation of remaining travel nurse shifts for nurses employed by private company Canadian Health Labs.
Overall, health spending in 2025-26 will increase only 1.8 per cent year-over-year.
Education
In this budget, the N.B. government is investing in education, with a focus on supporting students and teachers, including $32.4 million for educational assistants and behavioural intervention mentors, as well as an additional $200 million for enrolment growth, teacher recruitment, and childcare access.
Public Safety
In the 2025 budget, public safety received a significant allocation, with almost $56 million in operating costs proposed, representing 35% of the total budget. However, despite this spending, no new police officers are planned to be hired due to challenges in filling existing positions.
Infrastructure & Transportation
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure’s $620.2 million budget accounts for about half of the government’s capital budget. The N.B. government recognizes that the significant population growth seen in the province, along with supply and labour challenges, have put pressure on capital infrastructure and expenditures. As part of its commitment to the development of new public housing, and maintenance of existing housing, the government is investing $44.1 million.
More than $500 million is for the maintenance of roads and bridges. An additional $19 million is being invested in maintenance and improvements for tourism infrastructure, while $3 million will be invested in maintaining NB Trail infrastructure.
Fiscal Projections/Economic Outlook
New Brunswick’s 2025 Budget projects a $599 million deficit in 2025-26 following a $399 million shortfall in 2024-25, marking a shift from the recent streak of surpluses, reflecting growing economic uncertainty, and increased spending. The move away from surpluses started with the significant downward revision to the 2024-25 fiscal balance from a $41 million surplus to $399 million in the red.
Still, revenues are expected to rise by $527 million (4%) in 2025-26—$150 million short of the anticipated expenditure increase. However, there’s no return to balanced budgets on the horizon, either.
Legacy’s four-year fiscal plan projects budget deficits — albeit smaller ones — in every year of the Liberals’ mandate through 2028-29.
The team at Diplomat Consulting looks forward to the opportunity to work with you and your business to assess opportunities for alignment with government objectives, as well as support you in understanding any political risk. For more information, please contact Diplomat Consulting at hello@diplomatconsulting.com.
Ivan Ross Vrána
Managing Partner
