Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

Budget 2026

A Plan for Better Health Care

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Budget 2026 invests $5.4 billion, which includes an additional $370 million, to support people, health care providers, and better health care for all of us.

Enhancing Access

Your government is investing $54.3 million to recruit and retain health care professionals and increase access to health care in rural and remote communities. Budget 2026 includes:

  • $6.5 million to implement a provincial nursing travel team to reduce reliance on agency nurses.
  • $6.3 million to implement the Nurse Practitioner Funding Model so that residents can see participating nurse practitioners for medically necessary services without paying out of pocket.
  • $8.4 million to support 64 new acute care beds in St. John’s.
  • Almost $8 million to train and recruit more local nurses and nurse practitioners. This includes additional support to ensure existing seats are filled and students complete their training.
  • $8 million to support foster families by increasing foster and kinship care rates.
  • $5 million to provide paid work terms for students pursuing health care careers in hard-to-fill areas.
  • $3.5 million to help recruit and retain more doctors, this includes more ER doctors for our small communities.
  • $3.3 million to provide 24-hour care in Botwood, with plans to later expand to Whitbourne.
  • $3 million to hire mental health professionals to reduce wait times for programs and services.
  • $1 million to train, recruit and deploy anesthesia assistants to free up capacity within anesthesiology, and expand the Cardiac Surgery Program’s surgical capacity.
  • $935,000 to expand mobile crisis response teams to strengthen support for people with mental health and addictions issues.
  • $400,000 in additional funding for the Lionel Kelland Hospice in Grand Falls-Windsor.

Meeting Demand

To support NL Health Services to reduce wait times and ensure services are more efficient, Budget 2026 is investing:

  • $28.9 million to support the Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program and expand the Vaccine Program.
  • $1.8 million to increase fertility treatment subsidies to make reproductive care more affordable and easier to access.
  • $1.1 million for security updates to technology.

Investing in Facilities and Equipment

Building and upgrading health care facilities and equipment strengthens community care now and into the future, while modern infrastructure makes our health system more attractive to health care professionals. Budget 2026 includes:

  • $21 million to renovate additional space within the former Western Memorial Hospital to create 45 new long-term care beds.
  • $12.1 million for redevelopment of the Janeway Children’s Hospital.
  • $7 million for new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines in Grand Falls-Windsor and Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
  • $5 million for advancement of a new long-term care home in the Stephenville / Bay St. George area.
  • $4 million for advancement of the new Downtown Health and Well-Being Centre in St. John’s.
  • $4 million for the planning and construction of new long-term care beds at Valley Vista Seniors Home in Springdale and Labrador West.
  • $3.75 million for the expansion of Humberwood Addictions Centre in Corner Brook.
  • $2.9 million for 20 transitional and alternate level of care beds in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
  • $2.5 million for advancement of 54 new long-term care beds in Clarenville.
  • $1.9 million for planning of the new Urgent Care Centre in Conception Bay South.
  • $1.5 million for planning of the redevelopment of St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital.
  • $1.5 million for planning for additional acute care beds at the Health Sciences Centre.
  • $1.1 million to purchase six echocardiogram machines.
  • $800,000 for the expansion of the Health Sciences Centre Emergency Department to increase treatment spaces and allow health care providers to maintain safe care.
  • $479,000 for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy equipment.

Properly Funding Health Care

Your government understands that smarter investments are essential to better health care. Budget 2026 includes:

  • $750 million to pay off NL Health Services’ accumulated deficits.
  • Funding to modernize NL Health Services’ financial system to support financial management and introduce new technology, such as the province-wide CorCare system.