COMMENTARY: Time for fiscal restraint in P.E.I. |
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COMMENTARY: Time for fiscal restraint in P.E.I.
The P.E.I. government is maxing out the province’s credit card and Islanders will be stuck with the bill for generations to come. That is the clearest takeaway from Budget 2026, where the Lantz government plans to borrow $410 million. As a result, P.E.I.’s total government debt is projected to rise by nearly 20 per cent in just one year.
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And it doesn’t stop there.
The government plans to pile on another $1.3 billion in debt over the next three years.
That kind of borrowing comes with a real cost. Interest charges alone will cost taxpayers $201 million this year. That is money that won’t go to health care, roads or tax relief. Instead, it will go straight out the door to service government debt.
That works out to about $1,100 per Islander.
This level of borrowing is unsustainable. The longer it........