The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the Manitoba government to get the ballooning deficit under control after new projections were released in the latest fiscal update.

“It doesn’t matter that Premier Wab Kinew inherited this mess, it’s now his job to fix it,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Kinew is in charge now and it’s up to his government to get spending down and balance the budget, so no more money is wasted on debt interest charges.”

Budget 2023 originally predicted a $363 million deficit. The government’s latest fiscal update now projects a $1.6 billion deficit.

Total government revenue is down $719 million from budget 2023. Income tax revenue has decreased $264 million and income from Manitoba Hydro by $610 million.

Spending is up $530 million compared to the budget. A large amount of the increased spending is a result of higher than budgeted salaries and benefits due to wage settlements and overtime pay.

According the most recent sunshine list, which discloses all government salaries that are more than $85,000, the number of Manitoba government employees earning more than $100,000 increased by 64 per cent from 2020 to 2022.

Government debt is now projected to increase to $33 billion by the end of the year. That’s a $2 billion increase compared to the budget. Interest charges on the debt will cost taxpayers $2.2 billion this year.

“Kinew needs to look for places to get spending down and bloated government salaries are a good place to start,” said Haubrich. “The government shouldn’t be borrowing money on the backs of future Manitobans to fund six-figure salaries for bureaucrats.”