- Lower deficits
- Direct program spending growth lowered from 8% to 2%
- Kickstarting Investment Supercycle
- $400B capital investments over 6 years
- $22B of new affordability measures
FEDERAL Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne on Thursday released Budget 2026: Masters of our destiny, saying it is an ambitious plan to meet this moment and shape Canada’s economic future: building on our strengths, driving investment, boosting productivity, diversifying our trade, creating good jobs, and making life more affordable for Canadians.
Budget 2026 catalyses growth:
- It mobilises private capital, accelerates Canada’s Investment Supercycle, and sets the stage for long-term growth and a stronger, more sovereign Canada.
- It introduces measures to improve competitiveness that will help Canadian businesses, startups and innovators scale and commercialise at home, while the Canada Growth Incentive will mobilise more Canadian capital behind Canadian companies.
- It proposes major tax policy changes, the new Productivity Mega Deduction and the Canada Strong Fund to help make Canada the destination of choice for global investors.
- It provides funding for the Canada Electricity Strategy to double grid capacity by 2050 to meet growing demand, while accelerating electrification, grid modernisation and clean power expansion.
- It makes investments in nuclear energy and critical minerals that will create high-paying jobs for Canadians, grow exports and strengthen Canada’s position as a global energy superpower.
Budget 2026 delivers for people:
- It puts Canada on a path to end homelessness in 10 years, in coordination with municipalities, provinces, and territories.
- It enhances the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit with a 2027 Supplement and expands Nutrition North Canada to lower the cost of food for Canadians.
- It makes the Canada Caregiver Credit fully refundable, helps Canadians get a better deal on their mortgage, and cuts monthly energy bills by supporting 1 million energy-efficient home retrofits.
- It takes major steps to tackle long-term pressures by building more homes, strengthening competition across the economy, and recruiting and training the workers Canada needs for the future.
Budget 2026 strengthens Canada’s sovereignty:
- It includes initiatives to support Canadian arts, culture, heritage and journalism through a flagship Canada 160 Fund, a renewed Canada Strong Pass, permanently free admission to national museums for children and youth under 25, and $1.5 billion to expand, retrofit and rehabilitate ice rinks and recreational facilities across the country.
- It protects Canada’s natural wealth through the Nature Strategy and advances reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples through more than $50 billion in investments.
- It strengthens our sovereignty and defence capabilities, supports our Canadian Armed Forces members and their families, and helps ensure Canadians feel safe in their communities, at home, and online.
What the government is delivering:
- A middle-class tax cut for nearly 22 million Canadians, saving a two-income family up to $840 this year
- Cutting the GST for first-time homebuyers, saving up to $50,000 on a new home
- Lowering prices at the pump by up to 28 cents per litre by eliminating the consumer carbon price and suspending the federal fuel excise tax
- Launching Automatic Federal Benefits, which will help up to 5.5 million low-income Canadians get the benefits they are entitled to – such as the Disability Tax Credit and the Canada Disability Benefit
- Lowering grocery costs for families of more than 400,000 children through the National School Food Program
- Delivering a new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit for more than 12 million Canadians, providing up to $1,890 for a family of four this year, and about $1,400 a year for the next four years.
- Making it easier to switch phone and internet providers and bank accounts, and helping independent grocers compete, so Canadians have more choices and lower costs
What’s new in Budget 2026:
- Enhancing Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit with a 50% top-up in the new year. All told, a family of four will receive up to $2,570 within one year to cover the costs of groceries and other essentials
- Delivering a $2-billion investment to retrofit 1 million homes to save Canadians more than $1 billion per year in heating and cooling costs
- Making the Canada Caregiver Credit fully refundable to provide up to $1,260 to all eligible Canadians who are caring for a loved one
- Strengthening support for workers so they can keep more money in their pockets through the Build Canada Workers Benefit which would now provide up to $1,859 to individuals and $3,143 to families
- Building a housing market that works for all Canadians through an investment of $45 billion to build homes faster and more efficiently, using modern methods of construction and Canadian workers. In addition, the Canadian government is working with provinces to cut taxes, fees, and development charges on housing, reducing the cost of a new home by up to $200,000 in Ontario, for example.
