‘Maxed out’: Yukon budget includes record $81.8M deficit

By Canadian Press on March 19, 2026.

WHITEHORSE — Yukon Premier Currie Dixon hopes the budget he tabled Thursday is the worst the territory ever sees, as he warned of “tough decisions” needed to get its finances in order.

The budget for this year is Dixon’s first as premier and forecasts a record $81.8-million deficit — the largest recorded in the territory’s history — along with growing debt.

Dixon placed the fiscal situation squarely at the feet of the territory’s former Liberal government.

“This needs to be the worst budget the Yukon government ever tables,” Dixon, who also serves as finance minister, told the legislature.

“Today’s budget represents the low benchmark. It is the floor from which we must get up off of. It will shape the tough decisions needed to get us back on track.”

The Yukon Party was elected to a majority government in November, in a vote that saw the Liberals reduced to one seat.

Dixon said financial decisions, like those to pay for the confidence and supply agreement with the New Democrats to keep the minority Liberals in power, “were made at the expense of the next generation of Yukoners’ ability to fund essential infrastructure, such as health care or power generation.”

‘To put it bluntly, over the past few years, the Yukon has been spending far more than we can afford. This has put us in a dangerous financial position,” he said.

“This budget is a realistic and common sense plan that will deliver actual results for Yukoners while getting us back on a reasonable fiscal track.”

The $2.46-billion budget includes net financial debt forecasted to increase to $804 million, and Dixon said he has asked the federal government to raise the territory’s $1.2-billion debt limit.

It’s up to Ottawa to decide when that could be approved, he said.

“That means we cannot take on any more debt to fund our spending. In other words, our credit card is maxed out and we aren’t bringing in enough revenue to spend more.”

Government departments will be asked to find ways to reduce spending, he said.

He promised to strengthen the role of the private sector by reducing government activity “in areas that are more appropriately delivered by private enterprises.”

“Restoring balance will require controlling and prioritizing spending to ensure the best value for Yukoners while taking a measured, transparent approach to revenues,” he said.

The government is forecasting a return to surplus in the 2028-29 fiscal year.

Dixon said the Yukon faces “significant deficits in infrastructure and programming,” which led to the need for the historic budget deficit.

The budget includes more than $4 million for planning and design of an expansion of the Whitehorse General Hospital and money to plan for more long-term care beds in the territory.

More than $10 million is for more teachers and educational assistants, and $25.4 million is for building affordable housing in Whitehorse and Dawson City.

For the first time, the territory will have a $100-million contingency fund to address emergencies without needing special requests or supplementary budgets.

Dixon said priorities for his government include improving timely access to health-care services, protecting the integrity of the electricity grid and ensuring reliable power.

“If we stay the course, make prudent choices and focus on priorities, we can emerge stronger and more prosperous than ever before.”