New Brunswick 2026 Poverty Report Card

In October 2024, New Brunswick elected a Liberal government under Premier Susan Holt with a strong mandate focused on affordability. Key commitments included increasing social assistance rates, implementing a rent cap, expanding affordable housing, and reducing costs for low-income households.  

The government moved quickly on several visible commitments. A province-wide rent cap of 3% was introduced, and there has been progress toward expanding school food programming, including universal free breakfasts and a planned universal lunch program. The government has also prioritized health care expansion, including the rollout of community care clinics.  

In February 2025, the government released an updated poverty reduction plan that maintains the original target of reducing poverty by 50% from 2015 levels by 2030. The plan is built on three pillars — basic needs, income security, and service delivery — and reflects key issues raised during consultations, including low social assistance rates, barriers to accessing benefits, and gaps in transportation, particularly in rural areas, and health care access. The strategy includes commitments to collaborate across sectors to improve food security, expand access to transportation, increase awareness and uptake of benefits, and improve working conditions for workers with low incomes. Food insecurity is identified as a priority issue, but the primary responses outlined are school food programs, support for social enterprises, and further study of community-based initiatives. The strategy places significant emphasis on coordination, awareness, and system navigation, rather than introducing new income supports or expanding existing benefits.  

The strategy’s focus is most evident in the government’s approach to social assistance. While benefits continue to be indexed to inflation under reforms introduced under the previous Progressive Conservative government in 2021, Budget 2026 did not include any increase to base rates, despite a clear campaign commitment to raise them. As a result, social assistance policy remains largely unchanged, relying on indexation rather than substantive increases to improve its adequacy.  

The government has also committed to building 30,000 new homes by 2030 and has exceeded short-term targets for affordable housing starts. Investments have been made in public housing repair, supportive housing services, and community housing programs, alongside the introduction of the rent cap. However, demand continues to outpace supply, and the scale of investment in deeply affordable housing remains limited relative to need.  

Budget 2026 represents a significant shift in the province’s fiscal outlook. The government is projecting a record deficit of approximately $1.37 billion and continued deficits across the remainder of its mandate, despite a campaign commitment to balance the budget. Net debt is expected to increase from $13.9 billion to $19.7 billion by 2029.  

Although the government had warned that tough choices and spending cuts were on the way, ultimately it reversed course. Departments were asked to identify savings equivalent to 10% of their budgets. However, while limited reductions were made in select departments, overall government spending is projected to increase by approximately 5.5%, with health care spending rising by 17%.  

The government has framed this approach as necessary to address underinvestment in public services, particularly in health care. At the same time, it represents a departure from earlier commitments to be fiscally disciplined and places the province on a path of sustained deficits and increasing debt.  

Within this fiscal context, affordability measures in the budget are relatively modest. Investments include $10.2 million for supportive housing services, $17 million for the Community Housing Retention and Expansion Program, and $7 million for school food programs, in addition to continued electricity rebates. However, there were no new increases to rental benefits, no significant expansion of affordable housing programs, and no increases to social assistance beyond indexation.  

At the same time, cost pressures are expected to increase. NB Power has proposed a series of rate increases that would result in substantial cumulative increases by 2028. While the government has committed to reviewing NB Power, no measures have been introduced to offset these increases for households.  

New Brunswick’s policy landscape is therefore defined by a gap between the government’s initial mandate and its early policy decisions. While progress has been made in areas such as housing supply and service expansion, key commitments related to income supports have not been implemented. At the same time, fiscal decisions outlined in Budget 2026 indicate a shift away from earlier commitments to restraint, with growing deficits and debt shaping the province’s policy environment going forward.  

Affordability 

Make the temporary rent increase cap permanent within the Residential Tenancies Act and strengthen tenant protections. 
New Brunswick has introduced a temporary 3% rent cap, but it is set to expire. Introducing a permanent rent increase limit — connected to the CPI — in legislation, alongside enhanced protections against displacement, would provide greater stability for renters who are facing rising housing costs. Housing affordability was identified during the poverty reduction consultations as one of the main drivers of food insecurity, making stronger tenant protections an essential component of the province’s strategy. 

Prioritize public and non profit housing development, repair, and acquisition. 
As New Brunswick advances its Housing for All strategy and its target of 30,000 new homes by 2030, it should ensure that a significant portion of this supply is delivered through public, non profit, or community housing. Expanding and protecting affordable housing stock is critical to meeting the strategy’s objectives related to basic needs and overall well-being. 

Income Security 

Raise social assistance to an adequacy benchmark and advance a disability basic income framework 
Although rates are indexed to inflation, current benefit levels remain well below the cost of basic needs. The province should adopt a multi-year plan to raise assistance toward the MBM over the length of this mandate. Building on the Minister of Social Development's mandate commitment to explore basic income for people with disabilities, the province should advance a concrete program design with a defined timeline. 

Labour Market Reform

Establish a youth employment and training guarantee. 
New Brunswick should introduce a youth strategy to ensure that all young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET) have access to paid training, apprenticeship opportunities, or a wage-subsidized job. Supports for transportation, childcare, and other participation barriers should be built into the program design to facilitate sustained engagement. 

Establish a pathway to increase the minimum wage to become a living wage. 
Participants in the provincial consultations emphasized that current minimum wage levels remain insufficient given the rising costs of living. A clear, multi year plan to move the minimum wage toward a living wage benchmark would support workers with low incomes and strengthen progress toward the poverty reduction strategy’s income-security goals. 

Addressing Inequities 

Establish a community-based benefit navigation and service access strategy in partnership with municipalities. 
Building on the strategy’s commitment to people-focused service delivery, New Brunswick should fund municipalities and community organizations to expand awareness of income-tested benefits and offer accessible, in-person application support. As government services increasingly shift toward digital models, ensuring alternative access points — especially in rural areas — will be essential to prevent service gaps.