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How Would You Make Changes to the Budget?

Every year, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador presents a budget which outlines its revenues and expenditures.

If government spends more than it makes in any given year, it is in a deficit position. The deficit from one year gets added to the deficit of the next year, which means deficits accumulated over time add to the province’s overall debt. Government must borrow money to help pay down this debt.

In 2021-22, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador had a deficit of $400 million.

As of Budget 2022, government’s projected deficit for 2022-23 was $351 million, with projected revenue of $9.1 billion and expenses of $9.4 billion.

Net debt was anticipated to reach $17.1 billion in 2022-23; with a projected borrowing requirement of $2.7 billion.

A multi-year forecast puts government on track to a balanced budget in 2026-27:

2022-23 $351 million deficit

2023-24 $309 million deficit

2024-25 $270 million deficit

2025-26 $74 million deficit

2026-27 $82 million surplus

Given the government is focused on balancing the budget, do you think we have the right balance between health, education and other priorities?

Below shows how government distributed funds for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

Use the sliders below to indicate how you would balance spending. To make adjustments, start by decreasing spending in one area (such as Transportation and Infrastructure) by moving the slider to the left; this will free up funds in the budget. You can then allocate the available funds to other areas (such as Income Assistance or Post-Secondary Education) by moving a slider to the right. Please note that you cannot exceed the total budget available for allocation ($8,050,357,100).

Please note that increases or decreases in the current funding allocations will have either a positive or negative impact on services and/or programs.

A Note on Debt Servicing

Debt servicing costs are a fixed expense of $672,724,300 (7.7% of the total budget) in Fiscal Year 2022-2023. Please note you cannot change this amount.

What changes would you make to the budget? *

Available Budget

Health Care Sector

Funds allocated to administer the Provincial healthcare system (program expenditure includes employee salary, benefits and operating costs). The 2022-23 estimated amount was $3,482,607,500 (39.9% of the total budget).

Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education

Funds allocated for early childhood learning, the K-12 school system, and public libraries (program expenditure includes employee salary, benefits and operating costs). The 2022-23 estimated amount was $971,072,800 (11.1% of the total budget).

Transportation and Infrastructure

Funds allocated to construct and maintain the provincial highways; provide provincial ferry services; manage the provincial government fleet of light vehicles and heavy equipment; operate and maintain the provincial government air ambulances and water bombers; and construct and manage provincial government buildings (program expenditure includes employee salary, benefits and operating costs). The 2022-23 estimated amount was $484,429,600 (5.6% of the total budget).

Post-Secondary Education

Funds allocated for the post-secondary education system including, but not limited to, financial support provided to Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic (program expenditure includes employee salary, benefits and operating costs). The 2022-23 estimated amount was $387,557,700 (4.4% of the total budget).

Income Assistance

Funds allocated for income support programs and policy. The 2022-23 estimated amount was $217,955,700 (2.5% of the total budget).

Municipal and Provincial Support

Funds allocated to support the financial stability and viability of municipalities (program expenditure includes employee salary, benefits and operating costs). The 2022-23 estimated amount was $153,213,400 (1.8% of the total budget).

Other General Government Sector

General Government and legislative costs and other departmental expenditures not included in the above expenditure categories (program expenditure includes employee salary, benefits and operating costs). The 2022-23 estimated amount was $1,077,654,100 (12.4% of the total budget).

Other Resource Sector

Includes the Departments of Environment and Climate Change; Immigration, Population Growth and Skills; Innovation, Energy and Technology; Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture; and Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation. The 2022-23 estimated amount was $721,855,000 (8.3% of the total budget).

Other Social Sector

Includes the Departments of Children, Seniors and Social Development (less the funding for income support); Justice and Public Safety; and NL Housing Corporation. The 2022-23 estimated amount was $554,011,300 (6.4% of the total budget).

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