Manitoba

Manitoba budget to be presented in March

Finance Minister Cameron Friesen will present Manitoba’s 2018 budget on March 12.

Finance Minister Cameron Friesen says budget will 'make important progress on expenditure management'

Finance Minister Cameron Friesen will present Manitoba's 2018 budget on March 12. (CBC News )

Manitobans will find out what's in the province's 2018 budget when the legislature sits next month.

Finance Minister Cameron Friesen says he'll present the province's 2018 budget on March 12.

"I look forward to updating Manitobans on the tremendous progress we have made and the next steps we will take to make Manitoba the most improved province in Canada," Friesen said in a news release Friday. "It's our priority to keep more money in the pockets of Manitobans and build a brighter future for all of us."

The 2018 budget will "make important progress on expenditure management," Friesen said in the release, touting a $13-million drop in the province's forecast summary deficit.

The second-quarter report, released in December, pegged the summary budget deficit — which includes Crown corporations, schools and health authorities — at $827 million, down from the $840-million deficit projected in the government's 2017 budget.

The same report showed no change in the provincial projection of a $779-million deficit for the 2017-18 fiscal year for core government operations. 

The 2018 budget will be the third presented since Brian Pallister's government took power in 2016.