Recapping 2016: Newfoundland & Labrador's Fiscal Crisis and Lasting Impact

As social media users in 2026 share throwbacks to 2016, Newfoundland and Labrador finds itself revisiting many of the same challenges. 2016 was a tumultuous year in Newfoundland and Labrador, dominated by a severe financial crisis and the public’s reaction to the government’s response. The Controversial 2016 Budget and Widespread Protests On budget day in 2016, then Finance Minister Cathy Bennett projected a near $1.83 billion deficit, and implemented a number of new taxes, fees and levies. Doubling the tax on gasoline, increasing the sales tax, introducing a new income levy, and over 400 public-sector job cuts were just the tip of the iceberg. What happened next was a series of protests at the Confederation Building, accompanied by posters of then-Premier Dwight Ball and Cathy Bennet urging them to resign. At one protest in May, thousands attended, aided by several unions from across the province, urging govenrment to reverse its course. Protests continued for months. Muskrat Falls Met With Controversy, Criticism 2016 was the year the true scale of the Muskrat Falls project’s problems became public, marked by massive cost overruns, significant delays, and the government’s decision to re-evaluate its environmental plans. An interim report by Ernst & Young, released on April 8th, 2016, confirmed that Nalcor Energy’s cost estimates had been significantly underestimated and that the construction schedule could not be met. Nalcor CEO Ed Martin resigned and was replaced by Stan Marshall, the former head of Fortis. Shortly thereafter Marshall said it ballooned to $11.4 billion, an increase from the $7.4 billion estimated when it was sanctioned in 2012. Methylmercury contamination also became the centre-point of indigenous-led protests. Jennifer Hillier-Penney Missing from Northern Peninsula Jennifer Hillier-Penney was last seen at Dean Penney’s house on Husky Drive in St. Anthony on November 30th, 2016, while Penney was reportedly hunting at his cabin in nearby Northwest Arm. Her case quickly captured the attention of the province. Her disappearance sparked extensive search efforts and a years-long investigation that would remain a prominent story in the years to follow. In December of 2023, her estranged husband was arrested for first-degree murder, with police describing it as a case of intimate partner violence. That’s despite the fact that a body has not been found, though it’s not for a lack of trying — with numerous searches of waters around St. Anthony. Carbonear Father Charged with First-Degree Murder in Death of Daughter Quinn Butt, a five-year-old girl from Carbonear, was murdered by her father, Trent Butt, in April 2016. The incident occurred at her father’s home, which he set on fire after killing her. Firefighters discovered Quinn’s body inside the burning house. Trent Butt was found outside and survived. The court later determined that he had killed his daughter as an act of ultimate revenge against his estranged wife. “Does her voice haunt him, ringing in his ears with all the funny things she used to say?” mother Andrea Gosse told the courtroom at the time. In March 2019, a jury found Trent Butt guilty of first-degree murder and arson. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel July 1st, 2016 marked 100 years since the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel. Communities from across the province came together to honour the lives lost during the First World War. Of the approximately 800 men from the Newfoundland Regiment who went into battle on the morning of July 1st, only 68 were able to answer the roll call the next day. For the Dominion of Newfoundland, the loss was a devastating blow that marked an entire generation. Hundreds gathered at the War Memorial in Downtown St. John’s, including Princess Anne, who laid a wreath during the ceramony.