The Province of Manitoba released its second quarter report for the 2018-19 fiscal year and cites a summary deficit of $518 million which is down by $177 million over the 2017-18 year end. That is $ 3 million lower than was predicted in the provincial budget last spring.

“For the third year in a row, we are expecting government expenses to be within budget but there is still significant work to do to fix the province’s finances and return the budget to balance,” said Finance Minister Scott Fielding.  “We made a promise to Manitobans to return the budget to balance in our second term, and we remain committed to a careful and disciplined approach that protects front-line services.

Although the quarterly report shows an improvement in expenditures of $107 million from the budget the debt servicing costs for the province is projected to exceed $ 1 billion on 2018-19.

[jaw_quote author=”Scott Fielding – Manitoba Finance Minister” ]I cannot overstate the importance of meeting our financial targets as we work to strengthen the economy[/jaw_quote][jaw_clear]

Every provincial department is expected to be within budget this year except for Families which has a projected over expenditure of $27 million this year.

That being said the report shows that the Manitoba economy continues to remain strong. Employment is at record levels and Manitoba is leading the country in private-sector investment. The minister noted that rising interest rates, uncertainty in trade and the federal carbon tax that Manitoba opposed continues to pose risks to the fiscal stability of the province.

“We are making progress by focusing on the bottom line across the broader public sector, but debt servicing costs continue to negatively impact the province’s ability to invest in health care, education, social services and capital projects,” said Fielding.

You can view the entire report in the link below.

LINK | Second Quarter Report – Manitoba

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