The New Brunswick government is looking for cost savings in its real estate holdings. The newly released 2026-27 provincial budget announces public access will be shuttered at up to six heritage sites and four provincial parks unless community-based sponsors can step in to assume operations.

The move comes as the Province prepares for spending to exceed revenues by roughly $1.4 billion over the coming fiscal year, but has pledged to find savings within its own departments and agencies. That includes a 12 per cent reduction in civil service personnel, expected to deliver $100 million in labour cost cuts over three years, and a pullback on outside consulting services.

Along with plans to transfer facilities management or close heritage sites and provincial parks that draw fewer than 5,000 visitors a year, Finance Minister René Legacy confirmed that underused government buildings and schools with enrollment of fewer than 100 students are under scrutiny. Property tax exemptions have also been flagged for review, in step with an in-progress overhaul of the provincial property tax and assessment system to “ensure they remain justified and equitable”.

“I have asked Finance and Treasury Board staff to dig deeper and work on a granular level with departments on reducing expenses and curbing continued structural increases to our budget,” Legacy told the New Brunswick legislative assembly. “They will be required to report on what they have identified as an opportunity for change — for restructuring, for innovation, for elimination.”