The Manitoba budget to be released Thursday is expected to include help for businesses and new spending to create infrastructure jobs.
The spending plan will reduce the Health and Post Secondary Education Tax Levy — commonly called the payroll tax — for roughly 1,000 businesses, a government source told The Canadian Press.
The threshold at which businesses begin to pay the tax will rise to $2.5 million of annual payroll from the current $2.25 million, and the threshold at which a second rate kicks in will rise to $5 million from the current $4.5 million, the source said. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
Premier Wab Kinew recently appeared to leave the door open to phasing out the tax entirely over time.
The Opposition Progressive Conservatives called on the NDP government last week in question period to commit to eliminating the tax. Interim Tory leader Wayne Ewasko said the move would bring Manitoba in line with provinces such as Saskatchewan and Alberta, which have no such levy.
Kinew replied to Ewasko: “If we phase it out, will he then stand in his seat and applaud (the) NDP government?”
Finance Minister Adrien Sala said this week the budget will focus on “building” — spending money to create jobs and protect the economy from the impact of tariffs imposed by the United States. There will also be supports for people affected by the tariffs, he said.
The budget comes at a time when the provincial government has been trying to eliminate annual deficits — which have occurred in every year but two since 2009 — while also boosting spending on health care and giving raises to public-sector workers.
Sala said the NDP remains committed to balancing the budget before the next election, expected in 2027.
A political analyst said there has been little evidence so far of the government controlling spending in a way that would help balance the budget.
“I don’t see any sign of an overall strategy to contain rising expenditures,” said Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.
(This report by Steve Lambert of The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025)
