The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the Houston government to freeze pay for government employees after records show 86 per cent of them received a pay hike last year, while the province ran the largest deficit in its history.

“Nova Scotia is borrowing billions of dollars and nearly nine out of 10 government employees still pocketed a raise last year,” said Devin Drover, CTF Atlantic Director. “Taxpayers are struggling with the highest inflation in the country and they can’t afford to keep bankrolling bigger government paycheques.

“Premier Tim Houston needs to freeze government pay until the budget is balanced.”

Eighty-six per cent, or 12,778 out of 14,895, provincial government employees received an increase to their rate of pay during the 2025-26 fiscal year, according to records obtained by the CTF through a freedom-of-information request.

The Nova Scotia government spent $7.4 billion on employee compensation in 2025-26, up 15.6 per cent in a single year. That is equal to 64 per cent of everything the province collects in provincial taxes.

Meanwhile, the province’s finances are getting worse. The Houston government ran a $1.25-billion deficit last year and is now projected to run a $1.5-billion deficit this year. This would be the largest deficit in the province’s history.

Interest charges on that debt will cost taxpayers more than $1 billion this year. That is $2.8 million every day, or about $944 for every Nova Scotian.

“The government is spending millions every day on debt interest and it still handed out raises to almost everyone on the payroll,” said Drover. “Nova Scotians can’t afford more government debt. Freezing government pay is an obvious place to start cutting costs.”

The CTF’s 2027 pre-budget submission recommends the Houston government bring its compensation costs in line with Nova Scotia’s private sector, saving taxpayers about $406 million a year. The government has already announced plans to shrink the bureaucracy by five per cent through attrition.