Tory leader Tony Wakeham believes there could be more done for rural NL, while NDP leader Jim Dinn says the current government missed the markPublished Apr 09, 2025 • Last updated 6 hours ago • 4 minute readSiobhan Coady, Finance Minister delivers the budget 2025-26 speech in the House of Assembly on April 9, 2025. Photo by Keith Gosse/The TelegramPC leader Tony Wakeham says the provincial budget is supposed to improve the lives of people in NL — something he didn’t see in budget 2025-2026.Instead, he says there’s a lot of recycling of announcements made previously and no new programming.Some of the biggest discrepancies he sees have to do with health investments, even though the provincial government said this year’s budget had record investments in health care.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle content“I think about all the people that do not have access to a physician right now. So will this budget improve that access to physicians tomorrow or the next day or anything? I don’t see anything there for that,” said Wakeham. “I think about all the people who are currently paying to go see a nurse practitioner. (They’re) still going to have to pay to see a nurse practitioner right after this budget.” Wakeham added that these items should have been addressed but weren’t. Tony Wakeham, leader of the NL Progressive Conservative party. Photo by Cameron Kilfoy/The TelegramMore attention needed for rural areasWhen it comes to the health investments, Wakeham says the improvements being made to the system are all within urban parts of the province — and he wants to know what’s being done for other parts of the province, particularly in rural areas.“There has to be more attention given to providing those services in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. They used to have that, they’re not there now, but that’s because we’re not paying attention to them, and we need to get back to that,” said Wakeham.Article contentWakeham said the government needs to go into these communities and see what’s needed and what would work for them.“The cookie-cutter approach doesn’t work,” said Wakeham.Could make business easierWakeham also wants more detail on how the $200 million contingency fund — set up to mitigate potential tariff impacts — will be used.Wakeham believes that there should be a greater effort to knock down barriers that currently exist in the province to make doing business in NL easier.“I think there’s lots of things we can control. Whether it’s the Board of Trade or others have put forward proposals, and some of the things they see when it comes to procurement opportunities in this province,” said Wakeham. “They’ve made suggestions to the government, I didn’t see those in the budget.”A PC budget, he said, would focus more on the people of the province and would look at lowering taxes and growing the economy. “I want a province where I have more people paying less tax, not less people paying more tax. And I want to find a way to do that,” said Wakeham.Article contentWakeham added that the current government has made some interesting choices when it comes to spending taxpayers’ dollars and that’s not something he would do. He believes it’s not about spending more money but making better choices.“I wouldn’t be sponsoring a soccer team in England. I wouldn’t have a second Premier’s office in Grand Falls-Windsor that’s cost over a million dollars the last four years,” said Wakeham. “I wouldn’t be spending money on reports, like $5 million on a Rothschild report that nobody was ever allowed to see.”Recommended from Editorial What you need to know about NL’s 2025-2026 budget NL’s 2025 budget comes down Wednesday. Here’s what to look for NDP reactionNDP leader Jim Dinn, meanwhile, called the budget “uninspired” and believes a lot more could have been done to help people in NL who are struggling.The failure of personal care homes, NL housing repairs and health care tells him that the government has “almost given up on addressing the more serious issues.”Article content“I think in many ways, it misses the point. It misses the reality of many people in this province,” said Dinn. Jim Dinn, NL NDP leader, thinks the provincial government missed the mark on budget 2025-2026. Photo by Cameron Kilfoy/The TelegramDinn’s biggest concern was the $23 million cut to the NL Housing budget, pointing out that homes in his district have deteriorated since he took office.“If they put the investment in housing that they say they have, then why is it that I’m looking at houses in my district that have not been kept up since?” said Dinn.He also has issues with the fact that there was nothing in the budget that addressed what the Auditor General found in its recent audit of personal care homes.Dinn says seniors have come to him saying they are scared to go to personal care homes, adding that seniors are also not receiving enough support to age in their homes.“So where do they go?” he said.Dinn also notes that the government did not sign on for the federal PharmaCare program, which he sees as a missed opportunity.While he saw measures to increase recruitment efforts of teachers in the budget, nothing addressed class size and composition.“They’ve got a long way to go. But I know what could be better and what could make life better for the people who call my office,” said Dinn.Article content
‘Uninspired’ budget doesn’t go far enough to help people struggling in NL, say PC, NDP leaders
