Manitoba's NDP government delivered its first budget since being elected last fall. Premier Wab Kinew says Budget 2024 delivers on the government's commitments to rebuild health care across Manitoba and lower costs for families. 

"Six months ago, Manitobans put their trust in our government to rebuild health care and lower costs for families," says Kinew. "Our first budget delivers on those commitments by hiring 1,000 new health-care workers and delivering cost savings for Manitoba families with a $1,500 Homeowners Affordability Tax Credit. We're strengthening our province's economy, with help for you and help for those who need it most."

Budget 2024 makes investments in health care, with a plan to hire 100 doctors, 210 nurses, 90 paramedics and 600 health care aides over the next year, and investments to retain and train even more. It adds hospital and ICU beds and opens new Minor Injury and Illness clinics and primary care clinics so more Manitobans can see a doctor when they need one.

The Premier refers to this as a budget that will help take better care of seniors, invests in better health care for rural and northern communities, takes action to improve cancer care in Manitoba, and will help modernize health records and bring in plastic health cards for Manitobans. The budget more than doubles capital funding in health care, with money to begin the work to open the Victoria and Eriksdale emergency rooms. 

Finance Minister Adrien Sala says Budget 2024 saves Manitobans money by extending the gas tax holiday, providing renters and seniors with increased tax credits, expanding $10-a-day child care, providing free birth control, increasing funding for fertility treatment and providing rebates for electric vehicles. 

Sala says this budget will also make communities healthier and safer with a $116 million investment in building and maintaining social and affordable housing, and investments in pools and community centres across the province. 

He adds Budget 2024 will grow Manitoba's economy, with more good jobs for Manitobans and a plan to ensure Manitoba's agriculture can thrive, feeding Manitoba and the world.

"The previous government left us with a huge mess to clean up - a historic deficit, a health-care system that's been badly hurt by seven years of cuts, and a failure to strengthen our economy or support families who were struggling with years of rising costs," says Sala. "We're different. We're making smart, targeted investments. We can take steps to fix health care and lower costs, and we can do it while being responsible with public money and charting a path back to balance. That's what Manitobans can expect from our first budget."

Budget 2024's rural investments include: 

  • investing over $22 million in the expansion and improvement of medical transportation services across the province;
  • restoring the Rural Doctor Recruitment Fund;
  • expanding the nurse float pool to allow nurses to work at multiple health-care facilities throughout rural and northern Manitoba;
  • training and creating positions for advanced care paramedics to work in rural and northern Manitoba;
  • continuing to support innovative health delivery with nurse practitioners through QDoc;
  • extending the gas tax cut to continue providing millions in relief for rural Manitoba;
  • investing $146.9 million total in Business Risk Management Programs including Agri Insurance, Wildlife Damage Compensation, AgriStability and Agri Invest;
  • providing $135,000 for implementation of a veterinary strategy to help address a shortage of veterinary professionals in Manitoba;
  • investing $200,000 to reopen two Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation service centres;
  • increased funding for the Livestock Predation Prevention Strategy;
  • investments at Assiniboine Community College to support sustainable horticultural practices;
  • increasing the loan amount eligible for the Young Farmer Rebate to $300,000 from $200,000 and introducing a new lending fee credit for farmers under the age of 40;
  • providing for rural capital investments including the design of a new Eriksdale Emergency Room;
  • constructing a new personal care home in Lac du Bonnet;
  • increasing policing grants by $13.7 million for rural and urban communities;
  • investing more than $4 million more in new, annual and sustainable funding for sport and cultural organizations;
  • building the Lorette arena;
  • investing $635 million in capital projects for the health sector, which includes a one-time investment of $110 million for health system capacity expansion including: a new hospital, the Neepawa Regional Health Centre, which will be equipped to handle a wider variety of specialty services; a new Portage Regional Health Centre in Portage la Prairie; a Community Service building and new beds for the Boundary Trails Heath Centre; and a Western Manitoba Cancer Centre expansion.
  • investing over $22 million in the expansion and improvement of medical transportation services across the province;
  • providing a historic $24 million, a $4-million increase, to support the Manitoba Water Services Board for the development of safe, affordable, and sustainable water and wastewater infrastructure in rural municipalities;
  • providing a $730,000 increase to support the Urban and Hometown Green Teams, which provides funding to non-profit organizations, education authorities, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) councils and municipal governments that create summer jobs for youth aged 15 to 29;
  • investing $1.2 million to implement a new public libraries funding model;
  • increasing funding by $1.1 million for Integrated Youth Services, which brings total support to $3.2 million, a 52 per cent increase from last year, which co-locates mental health supports, addictions services, primary care, cultural and spiritual care, social services, and housing resources for youth aged 12 to 29;
  • scoping, designing and consulting for the Centre for Justice facility in Dauphin that will keep communities safe and bring culturally appropriate supports and vocational training to help Manitobans when they are ready to turn their lives around; 
  • funding to finish construction of new schools in Morden and Steinbach;
  • and investing $5.3 million in funding for ATV Manitoba and Snoman for off-road trail maintenance, safety and rehabilitation to make trails more accessible for Manitoba families.