The provincial government is singing its own praises, after calling a news conference today to talk about what it sees as a particularly strong economic performance through the first six months of the year.

Finance Minister Siobhan Coady says employment increased by 3.8 per cent over that period and unemployment has been at or near historic lows in each month so far this year—dropping to 8.1 per cent in June, one of the lowest since records began in 1976.

Coady says retail sales are up by almost 5 per cent through the first five months of the year compared with the same period a year ago; the number of new motor vehicles sold from January to May increased by over 22 per cent; housing starts from January to June nearly doubled over January to June 2023 and; the population target for 2026 has already been exceeded with more than 5,400 newcomers arriving in the province over the last year.

The minister says government is being fiscally responsible as noted by credit rating agencies.

She says the deficit will be about $150 million this year, which represents 1.5 per cent of revenue. Coady noted that when he government came to power, the deficit was over $2 billion.

“We have been very diligent in bringing down that deficit and, yes, we want to get to no deficit because we want to make our investments in improving the lives of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,” said Coady.