Parliament Hill's on Centre Block in Ottawa.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
The Liberal government’s spring economic update is framed as the next step of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s promise to keep Canada’s economy on solid footing despite the geopolitical earthquakes set off by the Trump administration.
Called “Canada Strong for All,” the update sets out new spending since the fall budget: $54.5-billion over six years. Much of that has been announced in recent weeks and months, such as the boost to the GST credit and the short-term break on gas taxes.
But there is new money, and a new fiscal outlook.
Here are some highlights.
The deficit
The government is now projecting the 2025-26 deficit will be $66.9-billion – $11.5-billion lower than what was forecast in the fall budget.
The deficit is expected to decline to $53.2-billion by 2030-31.
The update says this is owing to higher government revenues from personal and corporate taxes and higher oil prices.
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Sovereign wealth fund
The big announcement heading into the update was the creation of a sovereign wealth fund, through which the federal government will invest in major projects.
There are still numerous questions about how the fund will work, but the update provides a new detail: on top of the $25-billion the government is putting into the fund, it will look for other ways to finance it, including selling off assets.
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In the section of the update about the wealth fund, it does not say what those assets might be.
The update makes mention in another section about one asset the government is exploring selling: airports.
The labour force
A question hovering over the Carney government’s promise to fast-track natural resource and infrastructure development is who is physically going to build all those projects.
The update sets out an approach backed by $6-billion that the government says will get 80,000 to 100,000 new Red Seal skilled trades workers by 2030-31. (The Red Seal certification program sets national standards for more than 50 skilled trades in Canada.)
The funding will provide paid entry-level jobs as a pathway to apprenticeships, subsidies for businesses that hire apprentices, grants for those in apprenticeship training and more support for skilled worker training in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Canada Pension Plan contribution cuts
For those already in the work force, a major change: a cut to how much employees and businesses will need to contribute to the Canada Pension Plan.
The update said the government intends to reduce the base contribution rate to 9.5 per cent from 9.9 per cent, effective Jan. 1, 2027. That base rate is split between employees and employers.
The update says the cut means contributions to CPP will go down by $3-billion a year – and that money will stay in the hands of workers and employers.
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Housing
There are a few new measures in the update building on previous government promises to speed up housing construction.
They include over $7-billion in low-cost loans under the Apartment Construction Loan Program for up to 16,500 new rental homes.
The update says the government is exploring ways to modernize mortgage products, but in the meantime will change mortgage insurance rules to provide more flexibility in insuring projects like five-to-eight unit residential properties.
Defence procurement
The Carney government has previously committed to speeding up how the Canadian Armed Forces buys what it needs to defend the country and home and abroad.
The update proposes a new step for that process: turning the Defence Investment Agency into a stand-alone entity and giving it a dedicated cabinet minister. The update allocates $103.8-million for this to happen.
The government did not immediately say whether Stephen Fuhr, Secretary of State responsible for Defence Procurement, would be the person appointed minister.
Ottawa is also earmarking $2-billion to fund an already-announced extension of Operation Unifier, the Canadian military’s training mission for Ukrainian soldiers who are fighting off a Russian invasion. Recently, training has taken place in Poland, Latvia and Britain.
More money for sports
Olympic and community athletes alike have raised concerns that chronic funding shortfalls are getting in the way of meaningful participation in sports.
A call to immediately increase funding for sport was also part of the landmark Future of Sport in Canada Commission’s report, released in March.
The update offers an answer to that call.
It proposes to provide $755-million over five years, starting in 2026-27, and $118-million annually after that to support the sports system.
The funding includes money for Canada to host events but more is going direct to athletes and sporting organizations.
It includes $45-million over five years and then $8-million annually to help athletes train, compete, and perform and $660-million over five years and $110-million a year for National Sport Organizations.
The update says sports groups need to invest in sport at all levels and work with private-sector partners.
Whales
The update notes that with the potential for increases shipping traffic as Canada diversifies trade, there could come increased threats to whales.
The update lays out $91.3-million over five years, starting in 2026-27 to implement a regional noise monitoring and management program and to address other threats to the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale population off the B.C. coast.
It also proposes $160.8-million over five years to continue protecting Canada’s whales and their habitat across all coasts.
Small craft harbours
The national system of harbours is a crucial part of the fisheries industry, and the government is constantly under pressure to ensure there’s enough money to keep them in good shape.
The update proposes $957.8-million over five years to help repair and maintain them, which the government says represents an increase of more than 35 per cent per year over the 10-year average.
The money is also on-top of the Fisheries Department’s annual budget for fix-ups.