The Recovery of the New Brunswick Provincial Government Fiscal Situation

This report examines how the New Brunswick provincial government has recovered from a fiscal situation filled with deficits and debt. New Brunswick has faced fiscal challenges for years. Debt was a worry for many before the 2008-2009 fiscal year. During this period the New Brunswick provincial government was never able to achieve budget surpluses for more than three consecutive years. This fear heightened after the financial crisis of 2008 when the provincial government ran budget deficits for nine consecutive fiscal years. Then, in 2017-2018 New Brunswick achieved its first budget surplus since the financial crisis and has run budget surpluses since. This report describes the trends of the fiscal situation in New Brunswick between 1990-1991 and 2021-2022 and explores how policy decisions regarding the revenues and expenditures of the provincial government have led to the recovery of the New Brunswick fiscal situation since 2009-2010. This report also analyzes the debate on how New Brunswick should move forward concerning their budget balance. Many say that New Brunswick’s citizens currently need more government aid. Nevertheless, the best way to support New Brunswick’s citizens is up for debate. Decreasing tax revenues or increasing program expenditure would both decrease the budget surplus and potentially help those living in New Brunswick. The overall findings indicate that the recovery of the New Brunswick provincial government fiscal situation was largely due to an increase in equalization payments and a decrease in expenditure in the province.