The Progressive Conservatives’ 2026 budget session, which drew significant public ire and attention, concluded Thursday after a record 27 sitting days.

Lieutenant-Governor Mike Savage attended Province House Thursday afternoon to give Royal Assent to 10 government bills – some of which saw changes before they were passed in the face of protest.

Government House Leader Brendan Maguire said it was a good session that showed democracy at work.

“I’m proud of people that come to this House and have their voices heard,” he told reporters Thursday. “And in some cases it helped change minds.”

Thousands of Nova Scotians took to the streets for a series of protests over budget cuts starting in early March. House Speaker Danielle Barkhouse restricted public access to the House because of increasing tension, and later barred the public entirely for a week after singing protesters in the gallery delayed the final vote on the budget.

Among the legislation that passed are two bills related to the budget – the Appropriations Act and the Financial Measures Act – paving the way for the government to spend close to $19 billion in the coming year and make around $250 million in cuts to jobs, grants and programs.

The government has presented the cuts as difficult, but necessary to contend with a deficit of approximately $1.2 billion. The shortfall adds to the province’s growing debt and underscores mounting fiscal challenges that could require several more years of cuts, according to the government’s four-year fiscal sustainability plan.

Public pushback

Premier Tim Houston and his MLAs were hotly criticized for the cuts that initially totalled more than $300 million, but funding to some grants and programs was restored about two weeks after the budget was tabled.

Houston said he was convinced that some changes were needed as a result of private conversations he and his caucus had with their constituents about the impacts of the cuts.

He did not give credit to the thousands of protestors who assembled, multiple times, outside Province House or the audience members at an African Heritage Month gala who booed and heckled him throughout a speech he delivered a few days after the budget was made public.

Public dissent continued throughout the session, especially from people advocating for funding to be restored for the arts and culture sectors. It was not.

Other legislation

There was also pushback against a proposed change to easements – binding legal agreements landowners can sign to ensure their property will be protected for a particular purpose even if it changes hands. In the face of that opposition, the government walked back the proposal.

There was public resistance to a bill from Social Development Minister Barbara Adams that extends publication bans on children who have been in the care of the province beyond their death. That bill passed, unchanged.

Among the other pieces of legislation that passed this session are an energy bill that defines how the province will make money from offshore wind developments and new cannabis rules aimed at strengthening enforcement to support the government crackdown on unregulated cannabis sales.

MLAs also passed a bill that establishes province-wide standards for fire services and one that creates a protected Acadian riding in Cape Breton.

Quick off the blocks

The government started the session moving at a rapid clip, with the budget tabled on the first day and most of its legislation tabled within the first three days. But business slowed as the session continued.

Opposition parties asked for a re-do of the budget and independent members extended debate on multiple bills.

The session is the longest on the Houston government’s record and the longest since 2018’s budget session under the McNeil Liberal government, which also lasted 27 days.

Premier away

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the session ended with trust in government at “an all-time low.”

She pointed to the budget cuts, out-of-budget spending and the rising cost of living.

“And against all of that backdrop, we have a premier who has not, basically, bothered to show up.”

Houston was absent as the session wrapped as he’s in Calgary for meetings with energy companies and to host a roundtable and dinner along with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Earlier in the session he travelled to Toronto for a mining conference and to Texas for an oil and gas conference.

Liberal MLA Derek Mombourquette said it was a tough session that impacted a lot of people. He also remarked on the premier’s repeated absences.

“It just gets worse and worse with every session,” he told reporters.

“I don’t buy this argument that he has to be out of the legislature to do that work. That work goes on everyday. I think he’s strategically planning those meetings so he doesn’t have to be here.”

PC MLA Marco MacLeod, who has the title of ministerial assistant to the minister of energy, stood in the premier’s stead in Question Period Thursday in response to Opposition questions about the energy file.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, he said it was an “honour” to speak on the premier’s behalf.

“I’m glad to be here because it means the premier is able—this week he was in Western Canada to promote our province and to look for opportunities for us,” said MacLeod.

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