COLUMN: Report from the Legislature – Budget repeats previous announcements

On March 24 the Wab Kinew NDP government delivered their 2026 budget. The nothing-new budget was echoed with multiple re-announcements contained in their previous budgets, including the CancerCare headquarters, Lac du Bonnet Personal Care Home, free birth control, and $10 a day daycare. I am familiar with the NDP recycling announcements, but was shocked by their lack of a serious plan to tackle the affordability challenges Manitoba families are facing. Where is the real affordability relief Manitobans were seeking in this budget? We expected more.

Affordability remains a significant issue in our province, with half of all Manitoba households teetering within $200 of insolvency. The NDP budget does little to address this affordability crisis, offering no cuts to personal income taxes, no support for Manitoba farmers facing tariffs, fuel and fertilizer pressures, and nothing for Manitoba businesses. In fact, taking the PST off of ready-made food items in stores, like rotisserie chickens, soups and salads, could further jeopardize already struggling local restaurants that will still have to charge PST on the same items, putting employees’ jobs at risk. This budget is just another example of the Kinew government picking and choosing politically popular measures without any foresight of who will bear the consequences.

Private sector investment is on the decline, indicating a lack of confidence in the NDP Manitoba Jobs Agreement (MJA) which adds millions in costs to government projects. The MJA mandates only unionized labour on publicly funded construction projects, which excludes nearly 90 percent of Manitoba’s construction workforce. Infrastructure capital project funding is also down, leaving next to nothing in this budget to stimulate economic growth. Saving 15 cents on a two-litre bottle of pop doesn’t build an economy.

Escalating education property tax increases are what the NDP are consistent on delivering to Manitobans. Some Winnipeg school divisions have raised their taxes by as much as 43 percent since the NDP formed government. Statistics Canada has revealed a sharp increase in education property taxes across the entire province. The latest Consumer Price Index shows a staggering 19.5 percent surge in property taxes in Manitoba just in the last year, while the average Canadian property tax increase was a mere 5.6 percent. In response, the NDP budget proposes to boost their flat-tax credit by $100 beginning in 2027. Not nearly enough to make an impact when education property taxes are climbing by hundreds of dollars each year. Manitoba Progressive Conservatives warned that the NDP’s education property tax hikes are a driving factor behind Manitoba’s affordability crisis. Without caps or limits on education property tax increases, NDP underfunding is forcing school boards to raise their rates, leaving homeowners to pay the price. “Manitoba families are bearing the brunt of these tax increases from a misguided NDP tax scheme that targets homeowners, renters, businesses, and seniors,” said Obby Khan, leader of the Official Opposition.

Manitoba Progressive Conservatives are proposing a basic personal income tax exemption on the first $30,000 earned by struggling Manitoba families. This would save an individual about $1,500 per year and the average family up to $3,070 per year. Low to middle-income earners would be able to keep more of their paycheques, providing families with more money for everyday expenses. While Manitobans would continue to pay federal income tax after they earn $16,129, this significant shift in Manitoba’s income tax structure would guarantee that, for the first $30,000 earned by every Manitoban, they will not incur any provincial income taxes. The PCs continue to urge the Kinew government to adopt our resolution to increase the basic personal exemption amount to $30,000 to provide real affordability relief to Manitobans with low to moderate incomes.

I wish you all a joyful and blessed Easter filled with love, hope, and new beginnings.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at wayne@wayneewasko.com, or call me at 204-268-3282. Also, you can follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @wayneewaskomla and friend me on Facebook.