Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston. In the span of just two years, Houston managed to increase government spending by a stunning 19 per cent. Photo credit: Twitter/Tim Houston
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston is slamming his foot on the gas pedal and driving the province toward a fiscal cliff. For the sake of future generations, Houston needs to hit the brakes and get government spending under control.
A few months before Houston led his Progressive Conservatives to victory in 2021, former premier Iain Rankin鈥檚 Liberal government tabled a budget with spending projected at for the 2021-22 fiscal year.听
This spring, Houston announced his government鈥檚 spending for 2023-24 would hit
In the span of just two years, Houston managed to increase government spending by a stunning 19 per cent. That鈥檚 eight percentage points higher than inflation over the same two-year period.听
Since Houston entered the premier鈥檚 office, Nova Scotia鈥檚 debt has increased by . At the same time, debt interest payments are up by a year. And Houston is spilling all this red ink even though revenue this year is expected to be higher than in 2021.
By virtually any metric, Nova Scotia鈥檚 finances are in far worse shape than they were two years ago. And Houston appears to be just getting started.
In his government鈥檚 2023 budget, Houston announced plans to run deficits as far as the eye can see. Over the next three years, Houston plans to run deficits as large as and add nearly $4 billion to the provincial debt.听
Even three years from now, the province will be miles away from balancing the books if Houston doesn鈥檛 change course. In 2026-27, Houston expects Nova Scotia to be facing a deficit of 听
How is Houston justifying piling billions of dollars of additional debt onto the backs of future generations of Nova Scotians?
鈥淚鈥檓 comfortable running deficits in the short-term in order to make investments needed in health care,鈥� Houston last year.
Houston is misleading Nova Scotians.
First, these deficits aren鈥檛 short-term. Three years from now, Houston plans to run a deficit of half a billion dollars.
Second, all this new spending is not constrained to the health sector.听
Yes, health-care spending is up from $4.1 billion two years ago to today. But that only accounts for $800 million of the new spending.听
If Houston were telling Nova Scotians the truth, he鈥檇 admit spending is up in every ministry and the province鈥檚 finances are spiralling out of control.听
He would tell taxpayers that Nova Scotia will spend more than on debt interest charges this year. That鈥檚 nearly enough to for a brand-new hospital every year.
Instead, Houston is selling a fairy tale. He鈥檚 blaming all this new debt on health-care costs while most of his government鈥檚 new spending has nothing to do with health care.听
While Nova Scotia is heading in the wrong direction, it鈥檚 not too late for the government to stop its debt dive. If Houston froze overall government spending for the next three years, he would be able to table a balanced budget in 2026.听
A spending freeze wouldn鈥檛 have to apply equally everywhere. Houston could continue to increase the province鈥檚 health-care budget if he finds savings in other areas.听
The bottom line is that Houston needs to get spending under control. Nova Scotia taxpayers don鈥檛 want to waste billions of dollars on debt interest and leave future generations with a fiscal trainwreck just because the province鈥檚 present government refuses to make tough choices.听
After two years of massive spending increases, it鈥檚 time for the Houston government to buckle down, find savings and get Nova Scotia back on a sustainable course.听
Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He previously served as a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
