The recently tabled provincial budget by Tim Houston’s government is a stark reminder of the policy choices that continue to fail Nova Scotia’s most vulnerable, our children. Instead of addressing the systemic issues driving child poverty, the budget doubles down on austerity measures that deepen inequality and jeopardize the province’s long-term economic and social health.
Children & youth have been kept waiting
The announcement of funding for a new provincial child and youth advocate is a welcome and long-overdue step to protect the rights and well-being of vulnerable children and families. However, this initiative is undermined by the very budget that introduced it. Urgent action is needed to ensure the office is swiftly established and adequately resourced to meet the growing needs of children and families—needs that have been exacerbated by the government’s broader policy decisions.
While the provincial budget includes an allocated $300,000 in funding, this is a mere fraction of the $6.5 million recommended for annual operating expenses. Without sufficient resources, this office cannot fulfill its potential as a lifeline for vulnerable children and families.
The creation of this office is a critical step forward, but it cannot succeed in isolation. The broader context of the budget reveals a troubling pattern of rising inequality and systemic neglect. Cuts to social programs, inadequate investments in housing and food security, and a lack of meaningful support for families leave children and families more vulnerable than ever.
This budget is not just a missed opportunity—it’s a deliberate choice to prioritize austerity over equity, leaving Nova Scotia’s most vulnerable to bear the brunt of its consequences.
A broken promise, a devastating reality
In 1989, Canada vowed to eliminate child poverty by 2000. Fast forward to 2026, and Nova Scotia remains one of the worst-performing provinces in the country, with over 40,000 children—nearly one in four—living below the low-income threshold.
This budget does little to change that trajectory. Instead of bold, transformative action, it offers austerity which inevitably will be leaving families to struggle in a system that prioritizes profits over people.
The economic cost of neglect
Child poverty is not just a moral failing; it’s an economic disaster. The cost of poverty in Nova Scotia is estimated at $2.4 billion annually, draining resources through lost productivity, increased healthcare costs, and the strain on social services. Yet, this budget continues to underfund critical social programs, perpetuating a cycle of poverty that will cost the province far more in the long run. The government’s refusal to meaningfully invest in upstream solutions, like affordable housing, universal childcare, and income supports, ensures that these costs will only grow.
Families on the brink
The budget’s failure to address systemic inequities disproportionately harms lone-parent households, racialized communities, and newcomers. Nearly 60% of children in lone-parent families live in poverty, while racialized children face poverty rates twice as high as their non-immigrant peers. These are not just abstract statistics, they reflect the harsh realities of families forced to make impossible choices, such as deciding between paying rent or buying groceries, heating their homes or feeding their children. Despite this, the budget offers no meaningful relief for these vulnerable groups, instead advancing policies that widen the gap between the wealthy and everyone else.
The situation is further compounded by the government’s plan to cut the public service by 5%, slash $130 million in program grants, and reduce $1 billion in government expenditures over the next four years. These cuts will disproportionately impact the same vulnerable groups, particularly as no clear political directive has been provided on where or how these reductions will be made. This lack of planning means there has been no assessment of how these cuts will affect core services, leaving critical programs at risk.
The predominantly female workforce in public service roles will bear the brunt of these reductions, further entrenching inequality. No amount of resource extraction can “fix” this issue. In fact, jurisdictions that rely heavily on resource extraction often see greater inequality, as the benefits are concentrated among the wealthy while vulnerable communities are left behind. This budget doubles down on a strategy that history has repeatedly shown only exacerbates inequity.
Poverty is a political choice
This budget is a glaring example of how poverty is perpetuated by deliberate political choices. By prioritizing tax cuts for the wealthy and doubling down on resource extraction over meaningful investments in social infrastructure, the government is actively choosing to deepen inequality.
The budget’s failure to address systemic inequities is evident in its refusal to raise income assistance to livable levels. Lone-parent families, who are already four times more likely to live in poverty, will continue to face impossible choices as they remain thousands of dollars below the low-income threshold.
Meanwhile, the government’s tax policies disproportionately benefit higher-income earners, exacerbating the growing income divide. For example, recent tax cuts have created a $500 million revenue shortfall, yet the budget offers no meaningful measures to close this gap or redistribute wealth to those who need it most.
The neglect of affordable housing is another stark example of misplaced priorities. While the budget includes funding for just 1,000 affordable housing units and rental subsidies for 10,000 Nova Scotians, this barely scratches the surface of the province’s housing crisis, where thousands remain in core housing need. Without bold investments in housing as a human right, families will continue to face housing instability, a key driver of poverty and poor health outcomes.
The decision to maintain inadequate income assistance levels, underfund public education, and neglect affordable housing is not a fiscal necessity—it’s a policy choice. And it’s a choice that leaves over 40,000 children and their families struggling to survive in a province that has the second-worst child poverty reduction rate in Canada since 1989.
The high cost of cheap social policy
Nova Scotia spends just $1,300 per capita on social protection—less than half the national average and the lowest of any province in Canada. This chronic underfunding of social programs is a policy choice that has cascading consequences across the entire system. By starving social supports, the government is not saving money; it is simply shifting the costs to emergency rooms, homeless shelters, and food banks.
The government’s record spending on healthcare, while seemingly impressive, fails to address the root causes of poor health. Decades of research show that health outcomes are far more influenced by the social determinants of health, such as income, housing, education, and food security, than by healthcare spending alone. A landmark 2018 study by Dutton and colleagues found that increasing social spending relative to healthcare spending leads to better health outcomes, including lower rates of avoidable mortality and longer life expectancy. Conversely, stagnant social spending results in higher healthcare costs without improving health outcomes.
This budget continues to ignore these findings, pouring billions into downstream healthcare costs while neglecting upstream investments in social programs that could prevent illness and reduce the strain on the healthcare system. For example, 38% of children in Nova Scotia live in food-insecure households, yet the budget offers no significant measures to address this crisis. Similarly, the failure to expand affordable childcare or adequately fund public education leaves families without the support they need to thrive, perpetuating cycles of poverty and poor health.
The evidence is clear: investing in social programs is not just a moral imperative, it’s an economic necessity. By choosing to underfund social protection, the government is not only failing Nova Scotians today but also undermining the province’s long-term economic and social health. It’s time to shift the focus from austerity to equity, from short-term cost-cutting to long-term investment in people.
A roadmap for change
The path forward is clear, and it starts with bold, courageous policy action. The Nova Scotia Alternative Budget 2026 offers a blueprint for a more equitable and sustainable future. By improving tax fairness, investing in the caring economy, and prioritizing green growth, the province can address its fiscal challenges while building a stronger, more inclusive economy.
Key actions for immediate impact:
- Increase family incomes: Raise the minimum wage, expand income assistance, and enhance the Nova Scotia Affordable Living Tax Credit to ensure families can meet their basic needs.
- Transform social systems: Shift to a rights-based, trauma-informed model for child welfare and social assistance, ensuring no family lives below the poverty line.
- Guarantee housing & food security: Treat housing and food as fundamental rights, with investments in affordable housing and programs to eliminate food insecurity.
- Expand universal services: Enhance access to universal healthcare, childcare, education, and public transit, while making critical infrastructure like energy and internet more affordable.
- Invest in people, not profits: Redirect resources from for-profit ventures, like private long-term care homes, to public and non-profit services that benefit all Nova Scotians.
The time to act is now
This budget was an opportunity to address the urgent needs of Nova Scotia’s children and families. Instead, it doubles down on policies that deepen inequality and undermine the province’s future. The government has the fiscal capacity to make targeted investments that would yield significant returns, both economically and socially. What’s lacking is the political will.
Nova Scotia’s children cannot wait. It’s time for leadership that prioritizes people over profits, equity over austerity, and long-term prosperity over short-term gains. The choices we make today will define the future of our province. Let’s choose a future where every child has the opportunity to thrive.