Join us live via Zoom for our next #MBPoli Power Hour event, presented by 6P Marketing, Thursday, April 8th, the day following the 2021 Provincial Budget announcement. We’ll get exclusive access to the Hon. Scott Fielding, Minister of Finance, for an in-depth presentation of the new provincial budget, followed by a Q&A moderated by MCC President & CEO Chuck Davidson.

The annual budget process relies on Manitobans to provide valuable input. Budget 2021 public engagement activities asked about prioritizing investments for the upcoming year, and in total, more than 38,000 participants took part in a series of telephone town halls with the Minister of Finance, and more than 100 participants joined a series of virtual meetings. Here are some key take-aways to watch for from those consultations:

• Participants indicated their top three Budget 2021 priorities as improving health care (73%), improving education and child care (52%), and increasing mental health and addictions (43%).
• Compared to other high priority areas of health care spending, getting the COVID-19 vaccine out to Manitobans is seen as the highest priority with 57% of participants indicating the provincial government should spend whatever it takes to get all Manitobans who want to be vaccinated immunized as soon as possible.
• Feedback on how to approach the provincial deficit was mixed with 37% of participants indicating government should stick with its plan to balance the budget by 2027 and 44% of participants indicating government should balance the budget later than 2027, even if it means higher deficits and more provincial debt.
• Participants were asked to rate various steps the provincial government can take to help the economy recover from the effects of COVID-19. The top three steps identified as high priority by participants were creating apprenticeship training opportunities (44%), investing in infrastructure (40%), and helping Manitoba businesses increase the amount of goods and services they sell in other markets (33%).
• Participants were asked to rate various steps that could help residents and businesses recover from the economic effects of COVID-19. The top three steps identified as very helpful by participants were grant programs for businesses (49%), commercial rent assist programs for small businesses (44%), and deferring interest or penalties on public services such as hydro bills or auto insurance (41%).

Thanks to our event sponsors:

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