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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, delivered Made-in-Canada Plan (Budget 2023) on March 28, 2023. Budget 2023 is influenced by a range of factors, including tax measures to:
- address the cost-of-living pressures driven by inflation;
- stay competitive in the transition towards a greener economy;
- demonstrate fiscal responsibility after posing massive deficits during the pandemic.
Budget 2023 announces changes to the alternative minimum tax, extends the six-month increase to the GST rebate, and introduces a “grocery rebate”. It also increases spending in areas like health and dental care, and introduces direct support for low-income Canadians, and new programs to boost the clean economy.
Budget 2023 centers around the following three pillars:
People
Budget 2023 announces several measures to support Canadians, including investments in health and child care—such as providing dental care for uninsured Canadians with a family income of less than $90,000 annually, targeted inflation relief, and affordable housing initiatives.
Green economy
Budget 2023 builds on Canada’s transition to a green economy, and introduces various clean-energy programs, partly to compete with new tax breaks and other incentives that were announced in the United States last year.
Labour market
Budget 2023 is focused on strengthening Canada’s labourmarket, and introduces measures to increase skilled trade workers, expand training and innovation programs, and support employee ownership trusts.
In addition, Budget 2023 invests in Canada’s national defense totaling more than $55 billion over 20 years, builds progress towards Indigenous reconciliation, cuts federal travel and reduced outsourcing, and introduces measures to help ensure a fair tax system.