There were mixed reviews for the Manitoba NDP government’s new provincial budget released last week.
Midland MLA and Conservative finance critic Lauren Stone said she’s disappointed the budget lacks any serious plan to make life more affordable.
“Wab Kinew and his NDP are once again letting down Manitoba families,” she said. “They promised Manitobans that they would make life more affordable, but this budget fails to deliver real, tangible relief for families struggling with rising costs.”
Meanwhile, skyrocketing education property tax increases are what Manitobans continue to get from the NDP, Stone suggested. According to Statistics Canada, homeowners in Winnipeg experienced a near 20 per cent increase in property taxes between 2025 and 2026.
“When education property taxes in Winnipeg and across Manitoba are going up by hundreds and thousands of dollars, increasing the tax credit by only $100 and not until next year is a drop in the bucket,” said Stone. “Manitoba families need affordability relief now, not next year.”
“Manitoba families deserve affordability,” said Obby Khan, leader of the Opposition. “They deserve stability. They deserve a government that understands what they’re going through and is ready to act. I see moms and their kids in the grocery store, picking up fruits, vegetables, meat or coffee and putting it back on the shelf because it is just too expensive.
“We’re focused on putting more of your hard earned money back in your pocket. Because Manitoba families deserve affordability now.”
The Conservatives are proposing zero provincial income tax on the first $30,000 earned, which they estimate would save an individual about $1,500 per year and the average family up to $3,070 annually.
“That’s real relief, right now. It’s not a rebate at tax time. It’s higher paycheques every week, every two weeks, every month,” said Khan. “It’s shocking and surprising that Wab Kinew and his NDP have failed Manitobans on affordability, on growing the economy, on health care, and on crime. That’s not leadership. That’s failing to understand what Manitoba families are going through.”
Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck saw some positives in the budget.
“As the global economy continues to face strain, it is encouraging to see the provincial government focused on creating good, family-supporting construction jobs here at home by putting Manitobans to work first in building our province up,” he said.
“This budget’s commitments to build and renew critical infrastructure, like schools, hospitals and Manitoba Hydro projects, through the Manitoba Jobs Agreements is good news for Manitoba workers and higher wages and bad news for out of province license plates on job sites. And this budget’s greater investment in our apprenticeship system will mean more Manitobans can build their future here at home.”
Rebeck noted the budget also includes several other good supports for workers to join and succeed in the labour force.
“Higher wages for child care workers and more child care spaces will mean more parents, especially women, can participate in the labour force,” he said. “More investments in personal care homes and long term care mean more workers, especially women, will not have to limit working hours or exit the labour force altogether to provide care for loved ones.
“And increased investment in adult learning ventres will help to boost employment by ensuring more Manitobans can achieve their high school diploma.”
The cost of living is high on every worker’s mind these days, and Rebeck saw the budget as taking steps to “help make life more affordable for working families by providing free transit for kids and youth, free menstrual products in the workplace and free child care for low income families.
“Finally, we all count on public services to be there for us when we need them, and we know that workers in Manitoba’s public sector continue to struggle with understaffing and high vacancy rates after years of cuts and chaos under the former PC government,” Rebeck continued. “The provincial government’s important goals of ending mandatory overtime and ensuring safe patient ratios will only become a reality through a sustained commitment to recruitment and retention in health care.
“And understaffing is a major contributing factor to health care and the public service having the highest workplace injury rates in the province. This budget’s additional funding for new workplace safety and health officers is welcome, but it only addresses enforcement. We would have liked to see commitments in this budget to bring these injury rates down through injury prevention programs as well.
“We know that these problems cannot be fixed overnight but we encourage the government to focus its efforts on staff recruitment and retention to strengthen our public services.
Cynthia Leach, an assistant chief economist at RBC, saw some reason for hope in the budget.
“Manitoba is the seventh province to table its 2026 budget, and the new numbers look not as challenged as several others,” she suggested. “Despite the negative surprise in 2025/26, Manitoba claims the smallest 2026/27 deficit-to-GDP ratio and is one of few provinces charting a path to balance.
“Spending pressures and the uncertain economic environment could erode planned fiscal balances, and the province will need to continue to make fiscal room to support growth oriented spending. These are similar to the fiscal challenges faced by other provinces, but Manitoba will need to keep an eye on a debt ratio that is on the high end of the provincial average.”
