Premier Tim Houston reverses some budget cuts amid public backlash

CITYnews halifax/ By Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston apologized Tuesday as he reversed a portion of the $130 million in cuts to government grants included in February’s budget, saying he could not live with the plan to slash funding for vulnerable Nova Scotians.

Following public outcry over the cuts, Houston says his government will restore about $54 million to programs for people with disabilities and seniors, and for African Nova Scotian and Indigenous students.

“Many people told us that they were worried about certain parts of the budget, and I want to start by saying on some of the decisions, we got it wrong. And for that, I’m sorry,” Houston told a news conference.

Since the Progressive Conservative government tabled its cost-cutting budget last month, the legislature has been the scene of boisterous protests, with another rally on Tuesday. Houston and his ministers have also been booed and heckled at public events.

The premier has said the unpopular cuts were needed to deal with the budget’s projected $1.2-billion deficit.

“The process, in some areas, probably got more clinical when it should have been more human,” Houston said. “And I would say that really started to weigh on me, certainly over the last week as I was hearing from people.”

Vicky Levack, a disability rights advocate living in Halifax, said Houston’s reversal is proof that public pressure and protest work. “When we use our voices, our government does the right thing. It’s unfortunate they have to be shamed into doing it … but democracy is not dead,” she said in an interview outside of the legislature Tuesday.

Levack said she remains angry over the government’s cuts to arts and culture programming, and she will continue to protest in support of these sectors. “The arts are also disability support, those grants allow people with disabilities and other minorities to tell their stories where commercial art spaces don’t allow us those opportunities,” she said.

Houston said his government will restore $21.4 million in grants to support seniors and people with disabilities, and to help African Nova Scotians and Indigenous people access educational opportunities. And another $10 million will go back to organizations that support those groups. As well, the government is also re-establishing $22.2 million in funding for community programs that support seniors, disability groups and the African Nova Scotian and Indigenous communities.

More on the cuts

• Budget cuts put seniors and vulnerable Nova Scotians at risk: CCANS
• Cape Breton arts centre says tourism will be hurt by province’s budget cuts
• Budget cuts to ‘crucial’ school arts program to be felt across N.S.
• More N.S. museums to close as province manages deficit-loaded budget

“The deficit got bigger today with this announcement, but it’s a risk that we are taking in order to protect some of our most vulnerable,” Houston said.

The premier said he’s been listening to the backlash over the past two weeks, and said he has the chance to make adjustments now while the legislature reviews the budget.

“One kind of rule that I always have …. is can I put my hand on my heart and (ask) — ‘we did the right thing there?’ And I think when I put hand on my heart and said, ‘well, what would the impact be on people living with disabilities?’ I couldn’t live with that,” Houston said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2026.