Toronto, November 4, 2025: For a budget that was advertised as “big, bold” and set to “supercharge” the Canadian economy, the budget delivered today by Finance Minister Francois-Phillippe Champagne held few surprises and was mediocre at best. Catherine Swift, President of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses said “Reading this budget, you could almost hear the authors thinking ‘How little can we do and still get away with this’. There were the expected cuts to the public sector, fiddling with minor taxes like the luxury tax, the anticipated high deficit and substantial increase in spending, but nothing that could be considered big or bold.”                                                                    

The deficit for 2025-26 was estimated at $78.3 billion, the highest in Canadian history outside of the pandemic years. A deficit of this magnitude will ensure debt interest financing amounts will remain high for years to come and total debt will continue to increase significantly. Measures to accelerate write-offs for capital investment were welcome, but nothing new for Canada’s business tax environment. Immigration target reductions in the budget were a positive step, but still remain high compared to historical levels and are unlikely to have much short-term impact on housing shortages and the overloading of social services such as health care.

One of the objectives of the budget as outlined by PM Carney and Finance Minister Champagne was to stem the flow of investment out of Canada. Swift noted “The interest in eliminating the emissions cap on the oil and gas sector was a good move, but the fact other punitive legislation such as the industrial carbon tax, the impact assessment act, methane regulations and the West Coast tanker ban, among others, remain in place will continue to create uncertainty about investing in Canada. No mention of a badly-needed pipeline will surely be noticed as well.”

This government still appears to believe the answer to Canada’s serious economic problems lies in more public spending, which has never been a successful strategy over time. Swift concluded “The most impactful thing this government could do to boost Canada in the short term would be to devote resources to reaching a beneficial trade arrangement with the US. The longer the federal government and some provinces continue to think confrontation with the US is the best strategy, the longer Canadian businesses and citizens will suffer economic decline and lost jobs.”

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The CCMBC was formed in 2016 with a mandate to advocate for proactive and innovative policies that are conducive to manufacturing and business retention and safeguarding job growth in Canada. For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Catherine Swift at swifty4488@outlook.com or 416 816 7248.