Menu

state of the province address

Audience at SOTP 2026

Varying grades on New Brunswick’s education report card

, , , , ,

How are students performing in literacy and math in the province?

Premier Susan Holt provided a look at the past year during her State of the Province address delivered in Fredericton last week.

The province had set goals for proficiency in literacy and math for both anglophone and francophone districts.

Holt expressed that the province’s school systems have experienced both successes and failures.

One of the province’s goals with education was to lower chronic absenteeism rates in both school systems. The premier reported that the goal was met.

“We were really pleased to see a decrease in chronic absenteeism in both of our school systems. We are not going to move the needle on literacy or numeracy if kids are not in school,” said Holt.

The chronic absentee rate currently sits at 29.3 percent, which not only outpaced the 2025 target of 30.9 percent, but already comes close to the projected 2026 target of 29 percent.

Math outcomes, however, failed to meet 2025 targets. English students missed their target of 54.4 by three per cent, scoring just 51.4 per cent. French students also missed their target of 69.6, falling almost four per cent short at 65.9 per cent.

The province’s schools delivered encouraging results in literacy for Anglophone and immersion schools.

“We thought that we would be at 53.8 per cent next year and we are at 55.3 per cent this year [in anglophone schools],” the Premier explained. “That is movement in the right direction.”

Holt partially credited her colleagues from the previous government for setting the foundation for literacy improvement by introducing a curriculum teaching the science of reading.

“What we did last year was put the right resources around that program. Academic support teachers, in the classroom beside the students, focused on making sure the curriculum was helping students realize their full potential.”

Although francophone schools fell short of the 2025 target of 71.5 by just two per cent, the Premier reminded the audience that French literary outcomes are still the highest.

Looking towards the future, Holt said the negative numbers received on the 2025 progress report card help her and her team know what the focus should be in the following year.

For more in-depth information about these numbers, please refer to the education section of the Government of New Brunswick’s government priorities page.

Premier Susan Holt at the State of the Province Address

Health care and the economy focus of Premier’s state of the province address

, ,

In her annual state of the province address, Premier Susan Holt admitted 2025 was a year of uncertainty with threats of tariffs. She went on to highlight to the crowd in Fredericton her government’s achievements while not shying away from some areas for improvement.

“We know that health care and the economy are top of mind for New Brunswickers, and tonight’s speech drives home our commitment to improve outcomes for both,” said Holt. “While we are seeing progress in New Brunswickers’ ability to access care within five days, there is much more to be done on attachment to primary care. We will be adding more fuel to our plan, building on the foundation laid in 2025, adding more primary health-care professionals and opening more collaborative care clinics so that New Brunswickers can get the care they need.”

The provincial government had set a goal to increase the number of people in the province with access to a primary care doctor or nurse practitioner to 81% but it came in at 72.5%.

While speaking of the upcoming budget Holt warned that this is a time for difficult but necessary decisions.

“It’s no secret that we are facing major economic headwinds – especially in a tariff environment,” said Holt. “But there are also many growth opportunities at our fingertips, with our natural and human resources. The world’s best products are found right here in New Brunswick alongside the world’s best people. In order to support them, we need to make the strategic investments that set us up for long-term economic success.”

The latest projections have the deficit for the province estimated at $835 million.

Holt was joined on stage by Health Minister John Dornan and Finance and Treasury Board Minister René Legacy, who spoke about progress made on the accountability metrics announced at last year’s state of the province address, the challenges faced, and plans for the year ahead within their portfolios.

You can find the government’s report card by clicking here.