On March 25, 2021, Finance Minister Labi Kousoulis tabled Nova Scotia’s budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year (Budget 2021).

Prior to the 2020-21 fiscal year, the government had four consecutive years of surpluses. According to government estimates, $617.3 million was spent on COVID-19 related expenses in 2020-21. As a result of the pandemic spending, Budget 2021 estimates that the province’s deficit for the 2020-21 fiscal year was $705.5 million as compared to the $55 million surplus projected for the same fiscal year in the previous budget. The government anticipates returning to a balanced budget in 2024-25.

Projections for the next four fiscal years are shown as follow:

Read the full Nova Scotia budget summary [ 652 kb ]