Siobhan Coady, minister of finance for Newfoundland and Labrador, arrives inside from the cold weather during the Finance Ministers' Meeting in Toronto on Feb. 3.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Newfoundland and Labrador will receive a federal equalization payment next year, marking the first time since 2008 it has qualified for the transfer aimed at levelling fiscal disparities among provinces.
Minister of Finance Siobhan Coady says the province will be transferred $218 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year under the equalization program.
Ottawa’s equalization program helps ensure provincial governments can provide “reasonably comparable” levels of public services.
Coady says technical changes to the equalization formula have provided Newfoundland and Labrador with a “relatively small” payment.
The province last received equalization money in the 2007-08 fiscal year.
Coady says the province can’t predict if it will receive equalization funds in the future, adding that the government shouldn’t become dependent on them.