Capital Budget commits to record investments for Province

Today, Premier Dennis King and Finance Minister Mark McLane tabled the provincial government’s capital budget outlining a record spend of over $1 billion dollars in investments to infrastructure across the province over the next five years, including $308.1 million in spending in 2023-2024 fiscal year. 

“Islanders have been working together to support local through some of the toughest challenges in recent memory over the past few years, which has helped our economy continue to grow and allow our government to focus on additional spending for the future. This Capital Budget continues to build on our commitments made in the past and also introduces new investments for Islanders that will support our economy and lead our Province into a cleaner, more efficient future.”

- Premier Dennis King

The five-year plan will see record spending of over $1.16 billion that will allow our Island to take action to become more environmentally resilient and sustainable, invest in the health of Islanders, and continue to build for the future.
 
“The Fall 2022 Capital Plan is an exciting budget with record new investments for Islanders that are made possible by high levels of growth and high economic performance for our Province as we come out of some difficult years,” said Minister of Finance Mark McLane. “This budget builds our Island’s resiliency while also making significant investments to meet the needs of Islanders in the future.”

Highlights of the five-year Capital Plan include:

Climate Resiliency and Sustainability

• $10M to protect our Provincial shorelines and help mitigate the impact of extreme weather events in the future;
• $11M, for a new total of $51M, will ensure that 25 electric school buses are added to the existing fleet each year, which will ensure a fully electric fleet by 2030;
• $3.5M will continue to ensure that effective and efficient electric car charging infrastructure is publicly available by adding 16 new stations across the Island. 

Investing in the Health of Islanders

• $25M, for a new total of $174.4M, will ensure the remaining Mental Health Campus projects, including the QEH Emergency expansion as well as the new acute care hospital and life skills centre are continued;
• $58M will support Primary Care Access across the Island with the continued development of the new Summerside Community Health Centre (CHC), the Alberton CHC, and the CHCs in Charlottetown and Kings County;
• $8M to upgrade ventilation systems at remaining Island schools without mechanical ventilation as well as at the Provincial Correction Centre, Souris Hospital, Wedgewood Manor, Beach Grove Home and the QEH.

Building for the Future

• $100M, for a new total of $150.9M, will help create an additional 365 social and affordable housing units for a total of 465 units within the next five (5) years;
• $30M, for a new total of $136M, for the construction of the new Sherwood Elementary and Stratford High School, expansions and investments at École François-Buote and École Évangéline, and completing renovations at Elliot River and Montague Schools;
• $26M, for a new total of $43M, to ensure investments are made to update and retrofit, while applying an environmental lens, on our social housing and schools.

Media contact:
Kip Ready
Department of Finance
kjready@gov.pe.ca