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The Federal Budget Drops Tomorrow: Here’s What to Expect

The Carney government will have to balance infrastructure investment with the needs of average Canadians

Last week, François-Philippe Champagne, minister of finance and national revenue, posted the cover of the November 5 federal budget on X. Entitled “Masters of Our Destiny,” it features a tree-filled valley with transmission towers connected by wires—a blue sky promise of strength and sovereignty tied to energy infrastructure.

In a short video posted on social media, Champagne touted the government’s affordability measures and clean energy projects, avoiding fossil fuel–tinged terms while bringing up “resources projects” like LNG Canada Phase 2, a.k.a. the massive liquefied natural gas export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia.

We have what the world wants, Champagne says, which is “trust and a plan to build.” The 2026 budget will attract investment, advance major projects, and create jobs, he explains.

Earlier this fall, Olivia Bowden covered the inaugural Canada Investment Summit where Prime Minister Mark Carney also repeatedly emphasized that Canada has what the world wants. “The summit was launched to persuade investors from nearly thirty countries . . . to sink their funds into a smorgasbord of projects the federal government is promising are ripe for new investment,” she writes. The summit netted nearly $500 billion in commitments.

KPMG expects this to be the main focus of the budget: accelerating national projects including “infrastructure across energy, trade corridors, ports, rail, electricity and critical minerals.” But, as Gregory Jack explained in September, “the problem has rarely been that Canada cannot attract the attention of investors; the opportunities to invest here are fairly well known. It is the lack of trust, plus the conditions of investment in Canada’s regulatory and investment environment, that cause investment to stall.”

This is where the “productivity mega deduction,” announced during the summit, comes in. Bowden reported that the tax break would let companies write off 100 percent of their investment costs in the first year that the asset becomes available, a move meant to make Canada more competitive and investor friendly.

KPMG welcomed this initiative but suggested the 2026 budget could go even further with “additional tax and financing measures supporting automation, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and digital infrastructure.” Commentary in The Hub also outlined hopes that the budget will bring about “overdue” tax reforms, pointing to pressures from the big........

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