Premier of New Brunswick Susan Holt has declared that the year 2025 was pivotal for establishing a foundation for the province's health care system, with the focus now shifting squarely to delivering measurable results in 2026.
A Year of Building the Foundation
The premier's assessment, delivered in late December 2025, frames the past year as one of strategic groundwork. Susan Holt emphasized that her government dedicated significant effort to implementing structural changes and initiating key policies aimed at addressing long-standing challenges within New Brunswick's health network. This period involved planning, consultations, and the early stages of reform designed to create a more resilient and responsive system for patients across the province.
The 2026 Mandate: Accountability and Outcomes
With the foundational work ostensibly complete, the premier has set a clear expectation for the year ahead. 2026 is positioned as the year of accountability and visible progress. Holt's message signals a transition from planning to execution, where New Brunswickers should anticipate concrete improvements in health care delivery, access, and wait times. The government's performance will likely be judged on its ability to translate the 2025 groundwork into tangible outcomes that residents can experience directly.
Context and Public Expectations
The premier's statement comes amid ongoing national and provincial conversations about the sustainability and quality of public health care. By publicly marking 2025 as a foundation year and 2026 as a results year, Holt is establishing a clear timeline for her government's health care agenda. This move creates a benchmark against which the administration's success in this critical portfolio can be measured. The focus now turns to the specific metrics and milestones the government will use to define "results" and how these will be communicated to the public in the coming months.
As New Brunswick moves into the new year, the pressure will be on Premier Holt's government to demonstrate that the foundational work of 2025 effectively paves the way for the enhanced health care services that citizens expect and deserve.