The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released its annual Finance Minister Report Card that ranks provincial finance ministers on spending, debt and tax relief in the latest provincial budgets.

Manitoba Finance Minister Adrien Sala received an overall grade of D-, tied for second lowest in the country. Sala received an overall grade of F last year.

“It’s the opposite of fiscally responsible to spend more per person than any other government in Western Canada,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Sala needs to rein in spending so Manitobans aren’t forced to fork over more than $6.5 million a day in debt interest payments.”

The following key grades influenced Sala’s overall ranking:

Debt interest payments: D-

• Debt interest payments will cost taxpayers $2.4 billion this year, working out to $1,576 per person, the second highest in the country.

Spending per person: D

• The government is spending about $18,073 per person. That’s the fourth highest in the country and the highest in Western Canada.

Tax Relief: D

• The government is removing the Retail Sales Tax from more grocery items and changing the Homeowners Affordability Tax Credit so some homeowners will save on their education property tax bill. Total tax relief announced this year will save taxpayers $71 million.
• The government is not reversing its 2025 bracket creep policy that exploits inflation to bump taxpayers into higher tax brackets. Bracket creep cost Manitoba taxpayers $82 million last year. The tax hike will keep increasing until Manitoba again indexes tax brackets to inflation.

“Sala did not make life more affordable for Manitoba taxpayers in his latest budget,” Haubrich said. “Manitobans deserve real tax relief, not inadequate measures that don’t come anywhere close to making up for last year’s income tax hike.”

Overall ranking of provincial finance ministers:

You can find the full report card and all individual grades HERE.