Alter Acadie

New Brunswick transgender health advocates are raising concerns that the province’s latest budget did not include funding for gender‑affirming health care.

The government released its provincial budget last week which, despite an estimated $1.39‑billion deficit, includes the highest health‑care investment in New Brunswick’s history.

The province plans to spend about $4.8 billion on health care in 2026–27, an increase of $710 million over last year.

Some key investments include $170.4 million as part of the physician services agreement with the New Brunswick Medical Society, $30 million to expand the collaborative clinic model, and $50 million to continue modernizing and digitizing the health‑care system.

Related: New Brunswick government projects $1.39B budget deficit

However, dedicated funding for a gender‑affirming clinic — and a coordinated, system‑wide program to support it — was not included.

In a press release last Tuesday, the New Brunswick Transgender Health Network, Chroma NB and Alter Acadie expressed disappointment over the lack of funding, saying it fails to address the “serious” barriers trans New Brunswickers face when trying to access care.

“Gender‑affirming care is life‑saving primary health care,” wrote Dr. Kathleen Taylor, a Fredericton family doctor who provides gender‑affirming services and volunteers with NBTHN.

“The absence of any targeted investment means people in New Brunswick will continue to navigate a fragmented and inconsistent system, often without clear points of access to care, which we know results in poorer mental and physical health outcomes,” she added.

According to the organizations, New Brunswick is the only Atlantic province without a gender‑affirming care clinic.

They argue the clinic and program they proposed would have represented only about 0.04 per cent of total health‑care spending — roughly $2 million.

Without such a program, the groups said trans New Brunswickers will continue to struggle with accessing or maintaining hormone therapy, finding safe and inclusive primary care, and navigating a health‑care system that “too often lets them fall through the cracks.”

Acadia Broadcasting reached out to the Department of Health for comment but did not receive a response before deadline.