Newfoundland and Labrador will receive an equalization payment from Ottawa, for the first time in more than 15 years, totalling about $218 million dollars.

While we are “Have Not” once again, the Federal Equalization Program is meant to address fiscal disparities among provinces. Finance Minister Siobhan Coady says total major transfers to this province from Ottawa next year are expected to be about $1.1 billion dollars. But, Coady says she still believes there are improvements to be made to the equalization formula. 

Without these three small changes to the equalization formula, the province would not have received the funds this year, and Minister Coady can’t say for sure if the province will continue receiving equalization into the future.