Public Accounts for 2023-24 Released

Press Release

July 26 2024

The Province released the public accounts for the 2023-24 fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, today, July 26.

“Over the past year, Nova Scotia has continued to experience growth and the changes that come with it,” said Allan MacMaster, Minister of Finance and Treasury Board. “Our government has continued to focus on offering solutions and making investments, like healthcare, housing and affordability measures, while also responding quickly to extreme weather events.”

The Province reported a surplus of $143.6 million. The surplus is an improvement of $422.5 million over the budgeted deficit of $278.9 million.

Total consolidated revenues were $16.52 billion, an increase of $1.07 billion from the budget estimate, due mainly to changes in tax revenues, net income from government business enterprises, ordinary recoveries and other federal transfer revenues. This includes $536.8 million from prior year adjustments, primarily for tax revenues.

Total consolidated expenses were $16.38 billion, an increase of $643.3 million, or 4.1 per cent, from the budget estimate, mainly due to increased support for:

• healthcare investments, including compensation and other operating cost increases to improve access to care for Nova Scotians
• support for municipal infrastructure projects and disaster assistance following floods and wildfires
• initiatives to reduce homelessness, provide heating assistance and improve food security.

At year end, the net debt was $18.5 billion. The net debt to GDP ratio for 2023-24 was 32.8 per cent, slightly higher than a year ago when it was 32.6 per cent.

Quick Facts:

• 2023-24 additional appropriations since the final forecast update in February total $281 million
• the annual public accounts report the actual financial results at the end of the fiscal year in comparison with the budget approved at the beginning of the year
• the public accounts are presented in three volumes: the consolidated financial statements of the Province and the financial information of departments in Volume 1; financial statements of Crown corporations, entities, and funds in Volume 2; and departmental details about salaries, payments to suppliers, travel and other expenses in Volume 3
• also today, government entities released reports on compensation over $100,000 for individuals as required by the Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act
• for the 24th consecutive year, the auditor general has provided an unmodified opinion on the Province’s consolidated financial statements

Additional Resources:

The three-volume set of documents is available at: https://beta.novascotia.ca/public-accounts

Budget 2023-24: More Healthcare, Faster: https://beta.novascotia.ca/documents/budget-documents-2023-2024

IBF5