OTTAWA – November 7, 2026
Prime Minister Mark Carney and cabinet ministers fanned out across the country Friday to promote the government’s second budget, while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre described the document as a costly credit-card plan that will raise the price of food, fuel and housing.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne tabled the budget, titled Masters of Our Destiny, in the House of Commons on Thursday. It projects a $62.3-billion deficit for the current fiscal year and allocates roughly $142 billion in new measures over five years. The government attributes the additional room largely to higher-than-expected oil revenues linked to global prices. Most of that revenue has been committed to new spending rather than applied to deficit reduction.
The largest single measure is the previously announced productivity mega-deduction for capital investment, estimated to cost the treasury about $36 billion over five years. Other major items include more than $11 billion toward a goal of ending homelessness within a decade and roughly $9 billion for clean electricity expansion. Forestry and critical minerals each receive multi-billion-dollar allocations. Defence spending is charted to reach $157 billion annually by 2030.
Carney spoke in Winnipeg alongside Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and highlighted the homelessness commitment. He stated that previous efforts had been inadequately resourced, poorly co-ordinated and not sustained. The budget sets aside $11.2 billion over four years and $17.8 billion over ten years for the effort. Officials say roughly 65,000 Canadians are currently homeless. In Winnipeg the federal and provincial governments announced a partnership to build about 2,000 units of transitional housing and fund a new mental health and addictions centre.
Poilievre responded that the budget will inflate the cost of essentials and that Conservatives will vote against it. He called it the single biggest borrowing binge in Canadian history. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said it does not meet the moment on climate and affordability. Bloc Québécois and NDP leaders focused their early comments on housing and regional equity rather than outright rejection.
The government projects the federal debt-to-GDP ratio will remain near 40 per cent over the next five years. Public debt charges are expected to rise and account for nearly 13 per cent of spending by 2031. Independent forecasters have mixed views on whether the projected investment gains will materialize within the five-year window. Some private-sector analysts have pointed to continued trade uncertainty with the United States as a risk to the growth assumptions.
For northwestern Ontario the document includes language on immigration pathways, softwood lumber and northern infrastructure, though specific dollar amounts for regional highways or mining roads were not broken out in the initial summary. Local chambers had previously called for permanent rural immigration pilots and better support for forestry and critical minerals. Officials said they will review the full text for matching commitments.
The budget expands the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit on a temporary basis and makes the caregiver credit refundable. Housing announcements focus on supportive units linked to the homelessness target rather than broad market supply increases. The government maintains that the investment spending will generate higher future growth and offset the borrowing cost.
Champagne is scheduled to travel across the country this week to explain the measures. With a minority government, support from at least one other party will be required for passage of the implementation bill. Early signals from the Bloc and NDP have not indicated outright rejection, but further debate on the deficit trajectory is expected before any confidence vote.
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