Opposition leaders call N.L.'s 2025 budget 'recycled' and 'uninspiring'

Opposition party leaders from Newfoundland and Labrador's Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats say the 2025-26 provincial budget is "recycled" and paints an "uninspiring" picture of the province.

"My first reaction is a lot of the items that were described in the budget speech, stated [in] the budget are previous announcements," PC Leader Tony Wakeham told CBC News. "It's somewhat of a recycled budget, if you will."

NDP Leader Jim Dinn says he wonders if the province is listening to people's concerns as the threat of U.S. tariffs still lingers in uncertainty. 

"It seems that they haven't either been listening or they've given up on some of the key things that are going to help people, I guess, afford to live, especially in the light of the incoming tariffs and so on, which I know is on everyone's mind," Dinn said. "It's uninspiring."

The governing Liberal Party tabled its 2025-26 budget on Wednesday. Responding to economic uncertainty from the United States, the province increased spending and borrowing while delaying its return to a balanced budget by another year.

Dinn says the documents represented a "stay-the-course" budget.

There are no new taxes or increases to taxes and fees. The budget continues previous affordability measures, like a cut in the gas tax, but didn't introduced many new measure. That is except a moderate increase to the seniors benefit, tied to the cost of inflation, which will see an average jump of $46 this year for 50,000 seniors aged 65 or older.

Dinn believes the lack of new initiatives will cost the province more in the long run.

"We just had an AG report on personal care homes, which identified a significant number of deficits that have been ongoing at least since the last report 10 years ago. So, will a stay-the-course budget address those issues? I would say not," he said.

Little change indicates little long-term planning, Wakeham said.

"It's just one more year, one more year," he said. "We're still paying sugar tax. Why are we paying sugar tax? There's no evidence that people have consumed less sugar because of the sugar tax."

For education, the new budget invests $44 million and plan to hire 400 educators and learning assistants in the K-12 system.

Dinn, a former teacher and former president of the teachers' union, doesn't know where the province will get the workforce.

"Where are they? Because I can tell you right now, I know an awful lot of retired colleagues who are subbing in the school system because, well, they, they don't have the teachers," he said.

Wakeham wants to see the hiring plan. 

"I have met with so many students who are so frustrated. They graduated in May, and they're not offered any kind of permanent positions until sometime in August," he said. "We ought to be recruiting people on their way in their programs, not on their way out."

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