The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on October 24, 2024.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney‘s government is promising a “substantive” early-fall economic statement amid criticism from economists and opposition MPs over indications the Liberals will not table a federal budget this year.
After the re-elected Liberal government’s first cabinet meeting Wednesday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said his focus is on presenting a fall update as the next public accounting of federal finances.
It would be unusual to have a budget within a few months of a fall update, meaning the next budget likely won’t be presented until 2026.
Federal governments almost always release a budget early in the year. Critics say the absence of a budget will leave Canadians in the dark about the direction of federal finances.
An economic statement can be a simple update of Ottawa’s bottom line or it can also include new policy measures.
Audrey Milette, a spokesperson for Mr. Champagne, said the government is planning to release a fall statement that will be more than a simple fiscal update.
“We will have a fall economic statement that will be substantive,” she said, adding that it would be released in the “early fall” after the House of Commons’ scheduled return in mid-September.
Canadian Press reporter David Baxter explains how the government can still function when it won't be publishing a budget this spring. (May 15, 2025)
The Canadian Press
Ms. Milette said waiting until the fall will give the government more time to assess the economic impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports.
“It gives us some runway and a better chance of having more clarity,” she said.
Scotiabank economist Derek Holt said he is “unimpressed” by the government’s suggestion that there will be no federal budget in 2025, while acknowledging Parliament can still approve spending though standalone votes.
“I still don’t like this one bit,” he said in a research note. “Canadians have a right to know the state of the government’s finances − like how bad are they now − and the planned consequences to deficits and debt. Otherwise, it feels like Canadians basically wrote a blank cheque on April 28th when they granted a minority government to the Liberal Party.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and NDP interim Leader Don Davies all criticized the government’s decision not to present a full budget.
Speaking at an outdoor news conference on Parliament Hill, Mr. Poilievre said acting to improve the Canadian economy requires a plan.
“Mr. Carney said during the election campaign that he had a plan, and he took great delight in saying that a slogan is not a plan. Well, a budget is a plan,” he said, calling the situation extremely unusual.
“He will send a bad signal to investors and ratings agencies, and a lot of people will wonder what the Liberal government is hiding about our finances,” he said.
The House of Commons is scheduled to resume sitting on Monday, May 26 to elect a Speaker, followed by a Speech From the Throne the next day. The Commons is scheduled to recess for summer on June 20 after four weeks of sittings.
The Prime Minister is also scheduled to play host to the U.S. President and other world leaders in Kananaskis, Alta., from June 15 to 17 for the G7 summit.
Mr. Blanchet said he can understand that there might not be enough time for the government to present a full budget before summer, but he said the Liberals should at least produce a fiscal update by then.
Mr. Blanchet pointed out that the Carney government has said it will be focused on the economy.
“And yet, they aren’t event capable of tabling not only a budget, which I can understand given the work involved in a full budget, but not even a fiscal update in June,” he said at a news conference in Ottawa.
“They must not expect the population, or us, to say: ‘Okay. Do whatever you want. Explain nothing,’ and we will let you go with it. We have a mandate and our mandate is to shed light on what might be happening in terms of public finances in the coming months.”
Mr. Davies said Parliament’s most basic function is to authorize and scrutinize spending and MPs need to see a plan in order to perform that role.
“People across Canada elected Mark Carney to deal with Donald Trump and the economic threats we are facing. Mark Carney promised fast action, not long delays. Canadians deserve to see the economic plan now,” he said in a statement.