Finance Minister Ernie Steeves speaks at a provincial press conference (Photo: Government of New Brunswick/Submitted)
The province is taking steps toward much-needed financial sustainability and seeing results.
According to recently released numbers, the province has projected a surplus for its third quarter of just over $97 million, almost $10 million more than last quarter.
That’s also over four times more than this year’s budgeted surplus of $23 million.
Third-quarter actuals show a surplus of $185 million, almost $30 million more than what the province budgeted.
The province’s revenue for this quarter is also expected to be higher than budgeted by $92 million.
Total expenses are higher than expected too, by $17.5 million.
Finance Minister Ernie Steeves says the province is also on track to reduce its net debt for the first time in 13 years.
The net debt is expected to decrease by $245 million this budget, a big improvement over last year’s $146 million.
Steeves despite the positive numbers, the work isn’t over yet.
He says New Brunswick’s debt is still too high and will be a burden to future generations if not reduced more.
“While we can be proud of our progress to date, we must continue to build toward a better tomorrow,” said Steeves in a release.
“By maintaining strong fiscal discipline, we will make it possible for government to be responsive and provide sustainable high-quality public services for all New Brunswickers.
Third-quarter results for 2019/20 can be found online.
