N.B. premier launches website to track targets on government priorities

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says a new website will publicly monitor the status of her government’s priorities, using specific metrics over a four-year mandate.

Holt announced the website’s launch on Thursday night during her first state of the province address, in Fredericton.

“We are committed to being the most accountable and transparent government New Brunswick has ever seen,” said Holt, during her speech.

Holt invited five cabinet ministers on stage to introduce initiatives and goals that will be tracked by their respective departments. The 15 priorities include:

- Increasing the number of New Brunswickers with a primary care provider from 79 per cent to 85 per cent by 2028. (Health)

- Increasing the number of New Brunswickers able to receive care from their primary care provider within five days from 31.4 per cent to 37.4 per cent by 2028. (Health)

- Preventing the growth of nursing home waitlists, keeping the number steady at 1,088 (Housing)

- Increasing the number of housing starts from 6,169 to a total of 24,000 between 2025-28 (Housing)

- Increasing the number of affordable housing starts from 422 to a total of 1,760 between 2025-28 (Housing)

- Lowering the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness from 1,050 to 621 between 2025-28 (Housing)

- Improving literacy passing grades on provincial assessments to 56 per cent in English prime, 69.4 per cent in French immersion, and 75.9 per cent for Francophone students by 2028 (Education)

- Improving math passing grades on provincial assessments to 57.7 per cent for Anglophone students and 73.8 per cent for Francophone students (Education)

- Lowering chronic absenteeism rates from 32.5 per cent of students to 26 per cent of students in 2028 (Education)

- Lowering greenhouse gas emissions from 323-322 tonnes to 286-253 tonnes per millions dollars of GDP by 2028 (Environment)

- Increasing energy efficiency savings from 331,000 gigajoules to 500,000 gigajoules by 2028 (Environment)

- Improving outdoor air quality grades at N.B. station to “good or better” from 69 per cent to 78 per cent by 2028 (Environment)

- Ensuring good indoor air quality in government owned buildings, with a goal still to be determined for 2028 (Environment)

- Increasing the growth rate of average weekly earnings from a 2104-19 average of 2.5 per cent growth to a 2025-28 goal of three per cent annual growth (Finance)

- Increasing the percentage of youth ages 20-26 engaged in education, employment, or training from 84.6 per cent to 86.9 per cent in 2028 (Finance)

“We believe these are the right goals for New Brunswickers and their futures,” said Holt to reporters, following her speech.

Holt promised to publicly track the numbers regardless of whether benchmarks are met, using information gathered by third parties and “not manipulated by government.”

“We’re going to come back here and tell you whether it really is 79 per cent of New Brunswickers that still don’t have a family doctor, or if we’ve moved that needle to 80, to 81,” said Holt. “If we have moved it, why? What’s working? If we haven’t, why not? Where did we fail? How are we going to be accountable to these promises?”

Holt also spoke at length during her state of the province address about looming U.S. tariffs expected to take effect Saturday. Holt said the province would be ready with retaliatory tariffs as soon as any order came from U.S. President Donald Trump.

“I can’t sugarcoat it, it’s going to hit New Brunswick really hard at a time we’re already facing challenges in relation to our economy,” said Holt.

This week, Holt said an across the board 25 per cent tariff could impact up to 6,000 jobs across the province and would require financial help from Ottawa “quite quickly.”

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