WINNIPEG – Manitoba’s NDP government is expected to release its latest budget on March 24 amid concerns surrounding health care and affordability.
The province continues to wrestle with long wait times in emergency rooms and assaults on nurses.
The government has also been eyeing ways to address the high cost of living.
It recently put a freeze on the retail price of one-litre cartons of milk, with Premier Wab Kinew saying other measures are expected.
The province has faced calls from environmental and labour groups for more spending to promote energy efficiency and boost public transit and to set aside more land and water as protected areas.
Kinew’s promise to balance the budget before the 2027 election also faces a steep climb, with the current deficit forecast at $1.6 billion.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2026.
