Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be presenting the 2024 federal budget on Tuesday, revealing how the federal Liberal government intends to balance the nearly $40 billion in pre-announced new spending with her vow to remain fiscally prudent.
Amid calls for a concerted focus on boosting Canada’s productivity, Freeland has said the full picture of the state of the country’s finances will focus on “building more homes, faster, making life more affordable, and creating more good jobs.”
Declaring that the country is at a “pivotal moment” that requires urgent investment, the federal government is planning to introduce a bevy of measures in Tuesday’s budget to help put a dent in Canada’s housing crisis and win back straying millennial and Generation Z voters.
However, the new spending is coming amid concerns over a sizable federal deficit and remaining uncertainty around the degree of provincial and territorial buy-in for some of the bigger-ticket loan offerings the Liberals have previewed as coming in the budget.
How Freeland intends to uphold her commitment to maintain a declining deficit-to-GDP ratio and keep deficits below one per cent in the years ahead is going to be one of the key areas of focus for those scrutinizing the federal balance sheet when it is presented on Tuesday.
While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ruled out raising taxes on Canada’s middle class, Freeland won’t say whether the budget could include new or higher taxes for wealthier Canadians or corporate Canada, nor has she shed any light on where additional revenue may be found.
‘Generational fairness’ focus
Traditionally, governments have held budget news — save for some pre-tabling leaks — for the day the document is tabled in the House of Commons. However, the federal Liberals deployed a new pre-budget communications strategy this year.
Since late March, Trudeau and members of his cabinet have been selectively teasing out bits and pieces of the federal budget before it is actually unveiled, through a series of near-daily announcements.
With a targeted focus on Canada’s younger generations who are feeling squeezed by inflation and as if the deck is stacked against their future prosperity, the overall theme for the 2024 budget is “generational fairness.”
Seeking to echo this, on Monday Freeland kept with the pre-budget political tradition of selecting her budget day shoes, a pair of black leather heels from direct-to-consumer Canadian shoe brand Maguire.
Founded by two sisters, the brand has a stated focus on “working to make high-quality fashion footwear fair and accessible.”
New spending announced so far
Here is a recap of all the new spending and major loan commitments as well as announcements about budget-related policy pledges made during this weeks-long pre-budget rollout:
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March 27: Canadian Renters’ Bill of Rights, $15 million Tenant Protection Fund, and renter credit changes. -
March 28: $1 billion in loans and $60 million in grants to build or renovate child-care centres. -
March 30: Touting plan to rollout the first phase of national pharmacare related to contraceptives and diabetes medication. -
April 1: $1 billion over five years to fund a new national school food program for 400K more kids. -
April 2: $6 billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund, topping up the Housing Accelerator Fund by $400 million. -
April 3: $15 billion top-up to the Apartment Construction Loan Program, launching “Canada Builds.” -
April 4: $1 billion in loans and $470 million in contributions for new rental protection fund to preserve rent prices. -
April 5: $600 million in for a series of new homebuilding innovation efforts aimed at scaling-up modular and prefabricated homes. -
April 6: $2.4 billion to build capacity in artificial intelligence, largely for computing capabilities and technical infrastructure. -
April 8: $8.1 billion over the next five years as part of the long-term defence policy update. -
April 9: $500 million for a new youth mental health fund to help community organizations provide more care. -
April 10: $105 million to double firefighters and search and rescue volunteer tax credits, and $166.2 million for First Nations emergency management. -
April 11: 30-year mortgage amortizations for first-time homebuyers purchasing new builds, additional RRSP extension. -
April 12: A multi-billion dollar package tying in the government’s suite of plans meant to solve the housing crisis. -
April 14: A new Secondary Suite Loan Program allowing homeowners to access up to $40,000 in low-interest loans to add secondary suites.
