The Liberal government will not be tabling a budget after the House of Commons returns shortly, but will instead table a Fall Economic Statement, according to Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
“We’re going to be introducing ways and means motions as we enter back into Parliament, we‘ll table legislation, then there’ll be a throne speech, and then we’ll present a fall Economic Statement,” Champagne told reporters in Parliament on May 14 following the government’s first cabinet meeting.
The finance minister said the first measure the government will introduce when Parliament returns is the one percent cut to the bottom income tax bracket the Liberals had promised during the election campaign.
“This is a way for all parliamentarians to show up and say, ‘Yes, we support Canadians’ at the time when they need a break,” he said.
Minutes earlier, TV cameras and photographers were allowed into the cabinet room following the first meeting to witness Prime Minister Mark Carney sign a directive for Champagne to get to work on the tax cut. “Canadians sent a clear message. They need to see improvements in their affordability,” Carney said before signing the decision note.
“It’s my pleasure on behalf of the cabinet to sign this order to deliver that tax cut.”
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Matters of taxation are decided on by Parliament, meaning Carney will still need to pass legislation for the tax cut when Parliament returns on May 26.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a statement on social media that it was “unacceptable” for the Liberals not to be tabling a budget. “After months of building expectations and promising serious leadership, Carney announced he will deliver nothing,” Poilievre said.
Poilievre said with Parliament having been shut down for almost half a year and Canada facing “serious economic threats” from the U.S. tariffs, not introducing a budget was a “betrayal of workers and families across the country who expected this government to lay out its plan.”
The Liberals’ costed platform calls for $129 billion in new spending over the next four years. It says increased defence spending will cost $18 billion, and new housing initiatives would cost $11.8 billion over that time period. It also showed that the lower tax rate and getting rid of the capital gains tax expansion would remove $22 billion and $12.5 billion from government revenues respectively.
Carney has not stated that he intends to balance the federal budget. Carney told reporters on April 21 that the platform signalled a “fundamentally different approach” to respond to “the worst crisis of our lifetimes” of U.S. tariffs.
Housing, Economy
Other ministers took their first questions from media around the cabinet meeting on issues of internal trade, housing, and the economy.
Minister of Transport and Internal Trade Chrystia Freeland told reporters that lifting barriers to internal trade is a priority for the government. She noted that the International Monetary Fund has said Canada could add 4 percent to its GDP by bringing down internal trade barriers, and many premiers have pushed for this initiative.
Housing Minister Gregor Robertson told reporters that the government’s plan to double housing was “ambitious” and would involve leveraging Canadian technology with off-site manufacturing.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do on this, and it doesn’t happen overnight. Housing is a slow-moving creature,” he said.
When asked if he believed housing prices needed to come down, Robertson responded that he did not. “y. We need to be delivering more affordable housing,” he said.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly commented on the news this week that Honda would be postponing its plans for $15 billion in electric vehicle manufacturing investments in Canada due to sluggish market demand and the impact of U.S. tariffs. Joly said she had spoken with Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade Vic Fedeli about “the Honda issue.”
“Our goal is definitely to make sure that we’re in solution mode,” Joly said, adding that she wanted to speak with Honda’s upper management before the end of the day. She said that the Liberal government wants to create “economic certainty” in Canada and attract investments, but added that “there’s a lot of uncertainty” due to U.S. tariffs.
Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, who was previously a board member of Calgary-based oil sands producer MEG Energy, said he would be travelling to the western provinces “very soon” and looked forward to working with his provincial and territorial counterparts and indigenous stakeholders to “build a more prosperous, secure, and safe Canada.”
