What’s in the federal budget for you? Your questions answered

This story is a direct reflection of audience members, like you, who had questions about the federal budget. You can send your questions to [email protected]. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberal government tabled their first budget last week.

Many Canadians wrote to us wanting to know how it plans to address their concerns.

We tasked Catherine Cullen, host of The House podcast, and J.P. Tasker, a senior politics reporter for CBC News, to answer your questions and help break down what is — and isn’t — in the budget.

The main budget vote will come later this month. We just don’t know the exact date yet. 

The parliamentary tradition is that there are four sitting days of debate for it. 

“This is a chance for the MPs, the opposition parties, to kind of beat up on the government to present some amendments, possible sub-amendments where they would like to see some changes,” said Tasker. 

The Liberals have survived two confidence votes after MPs voted down a Bloc amendment calling on the House of Commons to reject the budget.

You can read more about the process and how the votes could play out in the House of Commons here.

This is always one of the biggest questions facing any federal government after budget day. 

Here’s how Cullen and Tasker explained how the government finds the funds to pay for their promises. 

There aren’t any new measures specifically aimed at seniors.

During the election campaign, the Liberals promised to reduce the minimum withdrawal from the registered retirement income fund by 25 per cent for one year and to increase the guaranteed income supplement by five per cent for a year for low-income seniors. However, neither of these measures have been included.

“While there aren’t new flashy initiatives for seniors, it’s important to note that the cost of senior benefits, especially GIS, is an enormous part of the federal budget,” Cullen said.

“Although the budget doesn’t focus on additional support for seniors, much of the government’s spending indirectly benefits them,” she said.

“In fact, the cost of Old Age Security alone is expected to reach $100 billion per year in the coming years, nearly doubling what the government spends on health-care transfers every year.”

The federal government anticipates it will generate thousands of jobs with local infrastructure spending. 

It has proposed $51 billion over 10 years for roads, housing, water/wastewater and health facilities.

“There’s a lot of knock-on effects from infrastructure spending. You get the construction workers, you get them to work, you get the subcontractors to work,” said Tasker. 

“Think about all of the other jobs that are associated with building things.”

This comes as the Canadian economy added a surprising 67,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate ticked down to 6.9 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

Canadians continue to feel the strain on their wallets, as prices on some grocery items such as coffee and beef keep rising.

Cullen and Tasker explain how some budget proposals might make food more affordable. 

Yes, there are several measures aimed directly at students.

Canada’s summer jobs program could receive almost $600 million over two years starting in 2026-27, if the budget passes. The funding is expected to create 100,000 summer jobs, a significant increase from the current 76,000 positions.

Additionally, there’s funding for a student work placement program, which will support around 55,000 work-integrated learning opportunities for post-secondary students.

The government is also looking to change the eligibility for the Canada Student Grant. It would stop international students who are attending private colleges from accessing it, which is expected to save around $280 million annually.

“This measure might ease the pressure on housing and health care, but it could hurt universities that depend on international student fees and affect tuition and jobs,” Tasker said.

The budget does, however, promise $1.7 billion to attract top-tier international talent to fill Canada Research Chair positions which aims to bolster Canada’s academic and research capacities.

Housing remains a big part of the budget, with an initial investment of $13 billion committed over the next five years to increase affordable housing supply. 

The government plans to fund more purpose-built rental buildings and offer tax incentives to developers to boost construction.

The federal government’s pledge to “double” home construction originally meant building 500,000 homes per year. The budget has since scaled that back slightly, now aiming to “nearly double” the rate to between 430,000 and 480,000 homes annually.

It is also eliminating the GST on new homes up to $1 million and reducing it for homes between $1 million and $1.5 million. These measures are intended to make new housing slightly more affordable, though they apply only to new builds and first-time buyers.

“But there’s really only so much the government can do. This is a market-driven economy that we live in,” Tasker said. “The government can help, but a lot of this is dependent on interest rates.”

The key takeaway is related to the Canada Disability Benefit.

It’s a long-promised initiative from the Liberal government that was pitched as a program that will help people with disabilities get above the poverty line.

But the amount ultimately delivered is not as large as originally promised.

Still, there are new measures meant to improve access to the benefit. There have been ongoing complaints that it’s too difficult and costly for many people with disabilities to apply, especially since the process often requires doctor’s notes or medical documentation.

To streamline the process, the budget proposes a commitment to offsetting costs for applicants. There’s more than $100 million over four years put toward that.

If you still have lingering questions about the budget, here’s where you can read the full proposal.