Days after trade war starts, Yukon gov't issues budget full of asterisks

Chris Windeyer · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 06, 2025 4:30 PM EST | Last Updated: 11 hours ago

The Yukon authorities issued a fund with a projected $82-million surplus Thursday, but some the Eagle Gold excavation catastrophe and Donald Trump's tariffs mean there's inactive plentifulness of uncertainty.

First, the numbers: Total spending adds up to $2.36 billion, including $477 cardinal successful superior spending and a $75-million contingency fund. Total revenues are astir $2.2 billion. 

How does that adhd up to a surplus? The authorities is including $342 cardinal successful accounting adjustments. Add it each up and, according to fund documents, the authorities is $82 cardinal successful the black.

"This fund reflects cautious stewardship of nationalist funds, liable concern successful indispensable services and infrastructure, and a committedness to semipermanent fiscal stableness truthful radical and businesses tin program for the future," said Finance Minister Sandy Silver during his fund address. 

The fund besides includes $774 cardinal successful borrowing, bringing the territory's nett indebtedness to astir $696 million. Finance officials accidental that indebtedness volition highest successful 2027-28 earlier starting to fall. That's due to the fact that the authorities expects to bounds programme spending increases to 4 per cent per year, chopped superior spending and bask expanding taxation revenues acknowledgment to colonisation growth.

This year, astatine least, determination are immoderate large increases successful spending. The authorities is pumping astir $72 cardinal successful caller wealth into the health-care strategy and is mounting speech $1.2 cardinal to program a large enlargement of Whitehorse General Hospital. 

There's $75 cardinal for improvements astatine the Whitehorse airport, much than $50 cardinal for bridges, particularly the completion of the Nisutlin Bay Bridge and $41 cardinal for upgrades to the Alaska and North Klondike highways.

Meanwhile, there's besides $12.7 cardinal for a large star vigor task successful Watson Lake, $12.4 cardinal for greenish vigor incentives and $12.2 cardinal for assorted greenish retrofits.

One large fund point is missing: $45 cardinal successful projected spending connected a projected ore dock successful Skagway is obscurity to beryllium found. Finance officials accidental that's due to the fact that the authorities has yet to scope an export statement with the Borough of Skagway.

But different large chunk of currency is required to cleanable up messes astatine 2 failed mines: $118 cardinal for the fallout from the heap leach nonaccomplishment astatine Eagle Gold mine, and $21.5 cardinal for remediation astatine the mothballed Minto mine.

The fund features nary caller taxes, isolated from an summation successful baccy taxes to lucifer ostentation that took effect connected Jan. 1.

Tariff trepidation

But concern officials pass that the imposition of tariffs — immoderate of which were again paused by Trump conscionable earlier Silver tabled the fund — mean there's a immense unreality of uncertainty hanging implicit the budget's projections.

In fact, concern section unit took the antithetic measurement of including a supplementary papers laying retired the ways the commercialized warfare could upend the government's fiscal plans. 

The bully quality is that conscionable 4 per cent of the Yukon's exports spell to the United States, by acold the lowest stock successful the country. And virtually each of that 4 per cent comes from the Keno Hill metallic mine, which is partially insulated from tariff shocks by caller spikes successful metallic prices. 

The atrocious quality is that the tariffs are wide expected to thrust up inflation, some for consumers and businesses, which are heavy reliant connected instrumentality imports from the States. Officials pass the tourism sector, which has rebounded good from the pandemic-era crash, could besides beryllium upended. 

'Never been this poor,' says absorption leader

Speaking to reporters aft the fund was tabled connected Thursday, Official Opposition Leader Currie Dixon blasted the authorities for what helium called "the worst nationalist finances this territory has ever had."

Dixon took purpose astatine the territory's level of indebtedness and borrowing, saying helium was "blown away" by the level of indebtedness being incurred.

"I knew that we were successful a atrocious fiscal position, I knew that we're facing hard times — but I had nary thought it was this bad, and I had nary thought that the authorities was going to spell this acold erstwhile it comes to borrowing," Dixon said.

"We person ne'er been this mediocre and we've ne'er been this anemic economically."

Dixon besides complained that maturation successful the nationalist assemblage has outpaced immoderate maturation successful the backstage sector. He called for a "slowdown" successful authorities hiring.

"The size of the nationalist work needs to beryllium reined in," helium said.

NDP Leader Kate White characterized the fund arsenic "dull and dreary," saying she doesn't spot overmuch to get excited about.

"Budgets are astir priorities and it's astir like, it's envisioning the future. And yeah, I'm not leaving that fund code precise inspired," she said.

The NDP has helped prop up the number Liberal authorities with a Confidence and Supply Agreement implicit the past fewer years, but White was cagey about whether her enactment would enactment the fund again this clip around.

"Can't archer you present wherever I'm going to go," White told reporters. "I tin archer you I'm frustrated, but it's time 1 truthful let's see where I'm astatine connected time 32."