Your questions about this year's federal budget, answered
Prime Minister Mark Carney's government unveiled a budget Thursday that covered more than $150 billion in spending, detailed in a 500-plus-page document. As Canadians attempt to parse what the budget means for them, here are answers to some of the questions sent in by CBC readers, viewers and listeners.
- What questions do you have about the federal budget? Send an email to ask@cbc.ca.
How will the merger of RRSPs and RRIFs work and when will it start?
The government plans to merge Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) and Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs). Currently when Canadians turn 71, they can no longer contribute to their RRSPs and must convert them into RRIFs and begin withdrawing from them.
The "RRSP-for-life" plan would eliminate the need to switch.
The budget says the exact details haven't been ironed out yet, though under the proposal Canadians over 71 would continue to be required to make minimum withdrawals. The government says it is still considering whether the RRSP could be kept open after death by a spouse or common-law partner, and whether the current "rollover" rules could be replaced by direct tax-free transfers.
The changes wouldn't take hold for some time, as they require changes to both federal and provincial legislation. Canadians can send their views on the proposal in writing to the Department of Finance by emailing RRSP-consultation-REER@fin.gc.ca by Jan. 8, 2027.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne delivers the federal budget speech in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
How does the Canada Housing Benefit work?
The budget renews the Canada Housing Benefit that provides direct monthly rental assistance to low-income renters. The 10-year extension starts at $1.7 billion over the first three years, beginning in 2028-29, and increases to $3.9 billion in future years.
The benefit is cost-shared with each province and territory, so the rules are different depending on where you live.
An aerial view of a residential neighbourhood in Vancouver on Tuesday. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
What does the new tax credit for business income from 'creative artistic works' apply to?
We don't know yet.
The federal government says it will consult with Canadians and the cultural sector on the Canada Creative Credit and provide details in the 2027 spring economic update.
The only details so far are that it would likely take the form of a non-refundable personal income tax credit that, combined with an earner's basic personal amount of tax-exempt earnings, would cover up to $45,000.
WATCH | What the budget means for your taxes:
What the federal budget means for your taxes | Hanomansing Live
November 5|
Duration
4:29
Thursday's federal budget includes a number of measures aimed at making life more affordable for Canadians. More low-income workers will get benefit payments to help them make ends meet. Those who make a minimum of $3,000 annually get a refundable tax credit under the Canada Workers Benefit, but that threshold is being lowered to $500 for all workers.Are heat pumps in the budget?
Yes. As the government announced on Oct. 8, the federal government is launching a $2-billion rebate program that it says will help homeowners in Canada lower their annual heating costs while reducing emissions when they install heat pumps in their homes.
The funding will provide rebates for up to 820,000 homeowners over the next eight years, saving them an average of $1,400 a year on their heating bills when they replace existing heat pumps or heating systems.
What's in the budget for seniors ...
The budget document points to about a dozen items that it says will have benefits for "predominantly seniors or the baby boom generation." Those include making the tax credit for home accessibility renovations easier to claim; "modernizing" Canada Post; removing the GST/HST from devices specially designed to treat cancer using alternating electric field therapy; and a new national anti-fraud strategy.
The Bloc Québécois said the budget does not do enough for seniors, particularly in regard to health care.
"It is the people, the seniors, the sick who will suffer," Jean-Denis Garon, the Bloc's finance critic, said in a statement.
WATCH | Bloc pushes back on budget:
Liberal budget not grounded in reality, says Bloc critic
November 5|
Duration
7:41
The federal government released its 2026 budget, sparking pushback from the Bloc Québécois over federal encroachment on provincial jurisdictions and a lack of unconditional funding for health care and seniors. Power & Politics hears from Bloc Québécois finance critic Jean-Denis Garon.... and youth ...
The government claims almost 30 items in the budget will have impacts on "predominantly youth, children, and/or future generations."
Those include revitalizing rec facilities and hockey rinks;
the new Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission of Canada to enforce the
Safe Social Media Act; and funding the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Friday that youth are desperate for homes and jobs and that Carney shows he is out of touch with his spending and immigration policies.
... and for grocery shoppers ...
The budget tops up the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, a pre-existing program that gives quarterly payments to Canadians with low and modest incomes.
The top-up increases the payments by 50 per cent for the 2026-27 benefit year, delivered as a standalone payment early next year. The supplement would provide up to $339 for a single person without children and up to $679 for a couple with two children.
The government says it amounts to $4.1 billion in additional support to more than 12 million people.
From groceries to tax credits, how much is in the federal budget for your wallet?
Maple Leaf Foods plans to raise prices again early next year, CEO says in earnings call
... and for small businesses?
The federal budget has zeroed in on business growth with a suite of tax measures and incentives designed to spur private-sector investment, but some business leaders and groups said the budget falls short in addressing the needs of small businesses.
"While there's a mega deduction and there's a focus on mega projects, my takeaway is that this is a mega disappointing budget for small business owners," said Dan Kelly, president and chief executive of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
The budget enhances the small business rollover of taxes when capital gains are reinvested in another Canadian small business.
"If you sell your business, but then you invest that money back into a new one, you're not going to get hit with capital gains right away," Kelly said. "It already exists but they're making it a little bit more flexible."
WATCH | Does Carney's budget meet the moment?:
At Issue | Does Carney's budget meet the moment?
November 5|
Duration
22:25
At Issue this week: Mark Carney's second budget lays out billions to build Canada's sovereignty and tackle the affordability crisis, but will it work? And what does the Democratic Blue-nami mean for Canada-U.S. trade talks?On entrepreneurship, Ottawa said the Canada Growth Incentive will encourage investors and business owners to reinvest capital gains in Canadian companies.
And on innovation, the budget introduced a $930-million expansion of the Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax incentive program to help businesses develop new products and technologies and bring them to market.
For self-employed business owners, Ottawa plans to simplify tax instalments by allowing a single annual payment instead of quarterly payments.
"All of these pieces put together are supportive of growth and investment in Canada over the longer term," said Randall Bartlett, deputy chief economist with Desjardins Group.
WATCH | 'Big bet' budget has its critics:
Budget 2026: Carney makes 'big bet' for investment, opposition blasts affordability moves
November 5|
Duration
6:43
The Carney government's second budget lays out over $150 billion in spending to attract investment, accelerate nation-building projects, boost housing and tackle the affordability crisis. The NDP says it favours the rich, while Conservatives call it a 'credit card budget Canadians can't afford.'What are the debt repercussions of the budget's price tag?
In the budget, the cost to finance Canada's roughly $1.3-trillion national debt will jump from $60.2 billion in 2026-27 to $85.5 billion in 2030-31.
Sahir Khan, the executive vice-president at the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy, said the government's "fiscal sustainability is intact." Canada's sterling credit rating, relatively strong GDP growth and healthy balance sheet mean that, "compared to everybody else, we're looking really shiny," he said.
Carney hopes the budget's massive public investing will have transformed the economy by the time the debt servicing charge has hit 12.5 per cent of the government's expenses, up from about 10 per cent now.
The Opposition is not on board.
WATCH | Poilievre says 'time is up' for Liberals:
Carney has allowed economic 'disaster in people's lives,' Poilievre says
3 hours ago|
Duration
1:15
Asked by the CBC how long Canadians should give the Liberal government to demonstrate results from their plan to build economic growth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says 'the time is up.'Poilievre said the Liberals should have named the budget "mastered by debt" and said their plan will inflate the prices of essentials and make life more unaffordable for Canadians. Adam Chambers, Conservative shadow critic for innovation, science and industry, said the budget is dependent on no major global shocks hitting the economy in the meantime.
"If the government is wrong, then the financial health of the country could deteriorate actually quite quickly," he said.
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