Nova Scotia budget includes reserve fund and tax cuts amid U.S. tariff threats
Nova Scotia Finance Minister John Lohr says the province is looking to diversify its economy in areas such as critical minerals, wind power and hydrogen.Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press
The Nova Scotia government has introduced a $17.6-billion budget that includes major tax cuts and a reserve fund to be used if the U.S. president makes good on his threat to impose tariffs.
Finance Minister John Lohr is forecasting a deficit of $697.5-million for the 2025-26 fiscal year – a figure that could rise if the $200-million reserve fund needs to be used.
The budget contains $500-million in tax cuts, including a one percentage point drop in the harmonized sales tax to 14 per cent, and an increase in the basic personal amount that is shielded from the provincial income tax.
Lohr says that in response to threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods in March, the province is looking to diversify its economy in areas such as critical minerals, wind power and hydrogen.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Conservative budget removes parking fees at all provincial hospitals, at a cost of $19-million, and drops the tolls from the two bridges spanning Halifax harbour starting April 1, which will mean $39-million in lost revenue.
Nearly $6-billion is earmarked for health care, including $1.4-billion for various capital costs and hospital expansions, with $26.9-million to cover the costs of the shingles vaccine for those aged 65 and older.