HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Finance Minister Maureen MacDonald says she will deliver a budget next month that marks the culmination of her government’s efforts to repair the province’s fiscal woes.
The government has set April 4 as budget day.
The government had hinted in recent weeks that balancing the books for 2013-14 would be a challenge.
But Premier Darrell Dexter said Wednesday that the budget will be balanced because of belt-tightening by government departments.
The NDP government campaigned on a promise during the 2009 election to balance the budget annually after their first year in power.
While the government managed to balance the books in the 2010-11 fiscal year, it has failed to do so since.
In a statement, MacDonald says the spring budget will mark a milestone for the province.
It will be the first budget for MacDonald as finance minister and possibly the last before a provincial election is called.
Dexter has dismissed speculation that a snap election will be called shortly after the budget is presented.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the NDP government campaigned on a promise to balance the budget by 2013-14.
