PEI

P.E.I.'s 2021-22 operating budget, by the numbers

Here’s a quick overview of the budget P.E.I. Finance Minister Darlene Compton introduced in the legislature Friday, along with a list of highlights.

Budget deficit will be more than $100M for 2nd year in a row in 2021-22

A stock image of a physician sitting at a lap computer.
The province is investing in virtual health care. (TippaPatt/Shutterstock)

Here's a quick overview of the P.E.I. budget, along with a list of highlights.

The latest projection for the 2020-21 budget deficit is $120 million. The estimate for the coming year is $112 million. A three-year plan has it dropping to $45.7 million the following year and $27.9 million in 2023-24.

Many of the items in the budget were previously announced, but Islanders are seeing them costed out for the first time.

  • Shingles vaccines for seniors: $1.5 million.
  • Recruitment of nurses and nurse practitioners: $1.5 million.
  • Expanding virtual health care: $2.65 million.
  • New investments in early childhood education: $8.2 million.
  • Electric vehicle rebate program: $500,000.
Incentives will be available for new and used electric vehicles. (Brandy Baker/The Associated Press)
  • Program supporting Islanders transitioning from carbon-based fuel sources: $5.6 million.
  • Rural transit pilot program: $250,000.
  • Summer food program for school-age children: $600,000.
P.E.I. children will be able to access the province's school food program in the summer. (Submitted by Steve Wilson)
  • Small business tax rate reduction: $2.8 million.
  • Tourism business grant program: $3 million.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kevin Yarr

Web journalist

Kevin Yarr is the early morning web journalist at CBC P.E.I. Kevin has a specialty in data journalism, and how statistics relate to the changing lives of Islanders. He has a BSc and a BA from Dalhousie University, and studied journalism at Holland College in Charlottetown. You can reach him at kevin.yarr@cbc.ca.