Manitoba’s NDP government is set to present its budget on March 24, under the spectre of an ever-increasing deficit.

The deficit for the current fiscal year is expected to reach $1.6 billion, more than double the $794 million estimated in the spring budget.

The pressure on the provincial wallet is deepening. Surging costs in health care forced the government to approve a $200-million special warrant earlier this month to handle health-care costs not accounted for in the last budget.

That is in addition to the $1.04 billion sought last December, which was largely driven by added funding for Manitoba Hydro operations and health-related costs. That money was drawn from the province’s consolidated fund.

A record-setting wildfire season also led to increased costs.

The province is also wrestling with a promise to make food more affordable. It has previously said grocery measures will be part of the budget.

Other provinces — including British Columbia and Nova Scotia — have tabled budgets with major cuts.

Nova Scotia is making more than $300 million in cuts. That is the equivalent of more than 1,000 full-time jobs spread across government and the broader public sector, such as Crown corporations and the regional centres for education that oversee schools.

The Maritime province’s Progressive Conservative government also plans to reduce the civil service by five per cent and the broader public sector by three per cent each year over the next four years to get government expenses in line with revenues.

In British Columbia, the NDP government’s 2026 budget includes a series of tax increases, capital project delays and a reduction of 15,000 public sector jobs over three years.