The bill also rewrites how securities disputes are handled in the province
Nova Scotia just handed financial institutions a 50 percent capital tax hike and opened a new path for resolving securities disputes.
Bill 198, the Financial Measures (2026) Act, received Royal Assent on April 9, 2026, capping a swift six-week journey through the legislature. The bill touched down at First Reading on February 25, cleared Second Reading on March 13, passed Third Reading on April 2, and became law a week later. It is a sprawling piece of legislation, amending 24 provincial statutes in one sweep. Most of the changes are administrative. A few are not — and those few deserve attention from anyone in the wealth and investment space with ties to the province.
Start with the money. Clause 68 raises the financial institutions capital tax from 4 percent to 6 percent, effective for taxation years ending on or after November 1, 2026. That is not a rounding error. It is a 50 percent jump in the rate, and it lands squarely on the balance sheets of financial institutions operating in Nova Scotia. For firms running wealth management operations out of the province, that is a cost increase worth flagging internally, even if the headline number does not move national markets.
Then there is the tax alignment. Clause 65 amends the provincial Income Tax Act to align with amendments to the federal Income Tax Act respecting the personal foreign tax deduction. Clause 66 allows the corporate foreign tax deduction to update automatically with any changes to the applicable corporate tax rate. For advisors managing money across borders, consistency between provincial and federal tax rules matters — and these clauses tighten that alignment.
Clause 67 extends the capital investment tax credit sunset from December 31, 2029, to December 31, 2035, and allows the definition of "government assistance" to be defined in the regulations. That is six more years of runway for businesses investing capital in Nova Scotia, which may factor into conversations advisors are having with clients about where to deploy money in Atlantic Canada.
On the regulatory side, Clauses 129 to 135 amend the Securities Act to allow for the designation and regulation of dispute resolution services and empower those services to resolve disputes. In plain terms, Nova Scotia now has a formal path for handling disagreements between investors and the firms that serve them. Investment professionals operating in the province will want to understand how this framework takes shape as it rolls out.
Tucked further into the bill, Clause 109 amends the Public Service Superannuation Act, stretching the review cycle for the public service pension plan from every five years to every seven, with the next review set for 2029. It is a narrow provision, but institutional investors and pension consultants advising public sector plans in the province should take note.
The rest of the bill covers ground that falls outside the wealth and investment lane — a new levy on electric and hybrid vehicles effective October 1, 2026, changes to vaping product taxation, and updates to insurance, meat inspection, and natural resources statutes, among others.
Bill 198 is now law. It is not the kind of legislation that reshapes an industry overnight, but for financial institutions and advisors with Nova Scotia on their map, the capital tax increase and the new securities dispute resolution framework are developments worth tracking as they come into force over the months ahead.
