Prime Minister Mark Carney at the University of Ottawa last week.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
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Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals unveiled their federal budget Tuesday, amid an almost-year-long trade dispute with the United States. Both Mr. Carney and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne are billing the new budget as a “generational” shift aimed at forcing a fundamental retooling of the Canadian economy, with massive investments in nation-building projects to diversify trade, all without destroying the balance sheet. Chronic deficits have become the norm in Ottawa’s budgets, and business leaders are calling on the Liberals to reduce debt.
Federal budget highlights 2025: What stands out in Carney's Trump survival plan
For the 2025-26 fiscal year, the deficit amounts to $78.3-billion. The deficit will edge lower over the projection horizon, reaching $56.6-billion in 2029-30. The budget also sets out a timeline to reduce the amount of federal public service employees, increase defence spending and get the corporate world spending again.
As Carney’s government unveils its plans to address some of Canada’s biggest issues, from housing to trade to the economy, what does it mean for you? Deputy Ottawa bureau chief Bill Curry, economics reporter Mark Rendell and reporter Jason Kirby answered reader questions on the budget’s biggest surprises and changes, and what it means for Canadians.
