More than $1B on the table in legislative assembly
Four spending bills tabled in the legislative assembly
MLAs are starting their first sitting of the seventh legislative assembly this week by considering more than $1 billion in spending. (File photo by Jeff Pelletier)
More than $1 billion is on the table at the Nunavut legislature this week as MLAs begin their review of four spending bills.
Premier John Main, in his capacity as finance minister, tabled Bill 1 of the seventh assembly on Monday: a $724.9-million interim operations and maintenance budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, covering the cost of running 14 government departments.
This bill will act as a stopgap until the Finance Department tables a full operations spending plan. That usually happens during the winter sitting but was delayed by October’s territorial election.
Earlier this year, Main said he plans to have that budget ready for consideration in the spring.
Once the new operations bill is approved, the interim budget “ceases to have effect,” the legislation states.
Departments with the biggest interim operations budgets are Health at $168 million, Nunavut Housing Corp. at $97.5 million, Education at $91.3 million, and Transportation and Infrastructure at $87.4 million.
Main also tabled a $373.2-million capital budget, the centrepiece of the winter sitting, outlining government spending on purchases and projects for 2026-27.
Spending over the upcoming fiscal year is approximately half of the $646.9 million the Department of Finance lists as its “revised estimates” for 2025-26.
The Department of Community Services has $128.5 million budgeted — the highest share of the next year’s capital spending.
That money is set to go toward fire halls in Arviat and Whale Cove, and water infrastructure upgrades in Kugluktuk, Arctic Bay, Grise Fiord, Pond Inlet, Sanikiluaq, Clyde River and Coral Harbour.
The two final bills Main tabled are supplementary spending bills for the 2025-26 fiscal year, which ends March 31.
Bill 3 adds $158.6 million in operations and maintenance spending across five departments, while Bill 4 adds $41.9 million in capital spending across seven departments.
All four bills were approved on second reading as of Tuesday afternoon and await review by the committee of the whole.
Is there anywhere else in the world where a population of 40,000 gets a $1B budget? Asking for a friend.
1/5 of Canada’s Land Mass does.