Deficit in spotlight as government announces date for MLAs to return to legislature

CITYnews halifax / By Steve Gow

Nova Scotia MLAs won’t have long to wait before returning to Province House.

February 23 has been targeted as the day members of the legislature will return to begin the first session of the 65th general assembly.

The upcoming session will be highlighted by the tabling of the 2026-27 budget by Finance Minister John Lohr.

It comes at a time when the province is currently dealing with an escalating deficit, with Premier Tim Houston telling reporters on Jan. 15 that Nova Scotia’s debt has ballooned to 1.4 billion dollars, which is higher than the figure reported in December.

At that time, John Lohr requested all government departments to assess a 10 per cent rollback of programs and grants and describe what that would look like in the budget, but he didn’t say whether he’d plan to accept the recommendations.

Lohr also said the province needs to slow down the rate of spending, and let revenue catch up with expenses.

MLAs last sat in legislature in October, after wrapping up an eight-day sitting that opposition parties say was purposefully kept short to stifle dissent.