ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Newfoundland and Labrador Finance Minister Siobhan Coady is scheduled to release her 2024-25 budget today, with an expectation that the books will be balanced.

The government has been working to whittle down its deficit, and it forecast last year that it would be eliminated by this year’s budget.

However, the province that is home to about 530,000 people is still expected to be carrying a substantial debt, with one of the country’s highest ratios of debt to gross domestic product.

As of October, officials were expecting to end the current fiscal year with a net debt of $17.1 billion, up from the $16.2 billion forecast earlier that year, while GDP stood at $32.2 billion.

Newfoundland and Labrador is set to receive a federal equalization payment worth about $218 million in 2024-25, the first time since 2008 it has qualified for the transfer aimed at levelling fiscal disparities among provinces.

The government led by Liberal Premier Andrew Furey unveiled a poverty reduction strategy last year, and many of its benefits are expected to begin next month, including a basic income program for residents aged 60-64 who use social assistance and community services.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2024.

The Canadian Press