New BrunswickThe Holt government has bumped up spending for several files in what Finance Minister René Legacy called the “the largest investment in capital in our province’s history.”Province announced its capital budget on TuesdayJordan Gill · CBC News · Posted: Dec 02, 2025 1:31 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Finance Minister René Legacy unveiled the 2026-27 capital budget on Tuesday, which saw increases in almost all provincial department budgets. (Chad Ingraham / CBC)The Holt government has bumped up spending for several files in what Finance Minister René Legacy called the “the largest investment in capital in our province’s history.”The province announced its 2026-27 capital budget on Tuesday.“The capital budget I am tabling … meets the moment we are in,” said Legacy.“These projects will strengthen the services families rely on every day and reinforce the foundations of strong and vibrant communities.”Overall, the province is planning on spending more than $200 million over what was allocated to be spent last year.EducationThe Department of Education and Early Childhood Development received a bump of almost $49 million in its budget.Much of the infrastructure spending will be on several school projects already under construction, but the province also highlighted six new major projects.These include new schools in the Moncton and Woodstock areas, and upgrades to unnamed schools in the Fredericton and Rexton areas.The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development received a bump of almost $49 million. (David Donnelly/CBC)Legacy said a growing population and aging infrastructure has increased the pressure schools are feeling.“Strong schools build strong communities,” said Legacy. “These investments support our government’s goal of ensuring that every student, in every region, has the opportunity to succeed.”Legacy told reporters after his budget speech that a lot of work still needs to be done to make sure there are enough classrooms for New Brunswick students.“My real concern with schools is … how many we open,” said Legacy.“We only opened one school this year, … we’re only planning to open one next year.”We should be opening six a year and every year we don’t — we’re falling behind.”TransportationThe largest capital budget bump is for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, which received a $60-million increase.The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure received a $60-million increase to its budget. Legacy said most of the department’s $680-million budget goes to road and other transportation improvements. (Mike Heenan/CBC)Legacy said most of the department’s $680-million budget goes towards “improvements to our roads, bridges, ferries and other transportation assets.”Health and housingThe Department of Health will see an increase to its budget by a little over $21 million.This includes funding for a previously-announced endoscopy suite at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton which is scheduled to begin construction next year.The province has committed $50 million for new public housing construction in the 2026-27 budget. (Brian McInnis/CBC)The province has also committed to $50 million in new public housing construction, with a further $15 million going to non-profit housing providers.“All told, there will be $78.1 million for housing, which represents nearly a 70 per cent increase over last year and the largest investment in housing in our province’s history,” said Legacy.Firefighting, minesFollowing raging wildfires this past summer throughout the province, $6 million is being earmarked for firefighting efforts.This includes funds “to support aerial fire suppression,” Legacy said, and funds to build a new warehouse for equipment and other resources needed in fire emergencies. The province has also set aside $11 million for “capital investments in infrastructure and reclamation projects for mine sites.”Nearly all departments saw a capital budget increase, if only a modest one, except for the Legislative Assembly, which remained the same, and the Department of Environment and Local Government, which saw its budget cut by $400,000.Opposition lukewarmWhile the province is touting the size of the capital budget, interim Progressive Conservative Leader Glen Savoie has concerns about the high price tag.He said the Liberals are $835-million over budget on the normal budget, well before the end of the fiscal year. He has concerns about what this could mean for spending on the capital budget.“When we see a capital budget of $1.47 billion, the first question we have is, ‘What are they going to do to control the costs to make sure they come in at or under budget?’” said Savoie.Meanwhile, Megan Mitton, the Green Party MLA for Tantramar, wasn’t impressed by the budget.“I’d say it’s not a particularly exciting budget,” said Mitton.“We’re way behind on school infrastructure and roads and bridges and a lot of things. And so I think that that’s extremely important to address.”ABOUT THE AUTHORJordan Gill is a reporter based in Fredericton, New Brunswick.With files from Sam Farley
All but 2 N.B. departments see capital budget increases for 2026-27
