N.B. says its surplus is $100 million more than projected in March

New Brunswick’s surplus is projected to be $135.5 million in the 2022-23 fiscal year, a rise of $100 million compared to the estimate in the spring budget.

Government revenues, meanwhile, are projected to be up by more than $220 million in contrast to what was budgeted in March.

Finance Minister Ernie Steeves made the projections in his first-quarter fiscal update, where he credited the increase in revenues to government collecting more tax dollars because of a stronger economy and population growth.

The rise in projections for the 2022-23 fiscal year is also due to a one-time federal payment to help the province cut its surgery backlogs.

Steeves says the economy is recovering “much faster” and the province’s population is growing at a rate not seen since the 1970s.

He says total expenses are projected to be about $120 million higher than in the spring estimate due to a rise in the cost of post-secondary education, training and labour, and transportation.