Tory Treasury Board critic Stephanie Kusie recently said she had high hopes the April 28 update would ‘finally outline progress made’ with the Liberals’ spending review, which aims to cut billions of dollars and thousands of jobs from the public service.
The current short-sighted arrangement of unpredictable funding cycles impedes the program’s ability to efficiently deliver results.
The funding for the Enhanced Nature Legacy Program will sunset March 31, and there’s no word on its renewal. Meanwhile, the feds say a nature strategy is coming, but the 2026-27 main estimates highlight a 62 per cent drop in cash for nature conservation.
National Defence’s $48.4-billion represents the biggest ask of the $230.4-billion set to be voted on by MPs, with five more departments seeking approval for more than $10-billion.
This year’s estimates include $1.38-billion in funding for the CBC, representing a marked decrease from the $1.58-billion allotted to the public broadcaster during the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie says the PBO is ‘unable to do its job of providing government oversight.’ But another former budget watchdog Kevin Page says the prime minister has ‘deep respect for the legislative budget offices,’ adding that the next PBO will be faced with ‘enormous challenges’ in the months and years ahead and will be playing a critical role.
The $2.2-billion request for defence spending is ‘all tied’ to meeting NATO’s defence spending target, says Canadian Global Affairs Institute’s Craig Stone, but Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s Christopher Coates says it should be seen as ‘long overdue’ modernization of the Armed Forces.
Despite planned cuts to administration spending, the House’s overall main estimates ask for 2026-27 is still up by 1.9 per cent. The Senate’s budget is also set to jump by 1.5 per cent.
Public property losses increased almost tenfold between 2023-24 and 2024-25—once again driven by a natural disaster—to total $374.8-million.
Unsurprisingly, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau’s office was the highest spender, with a total of $13.1-million in expenses reported.
Program expenses for the year totalled $489.9-billion, while public debt charges reached $53.4-billion.
The Canadian Dental Care Plan will receive the largest portion of the funds at $1.6-billion, with Indigenous Services, Crown-Indigenous Relations, and National Defence each requesting over $1-billion.
Mark Carney’s first budget displays the prime minister’s administrative instincts: control the narrative, project calm, and preserve credibility in bond markets.
The finance minister also committed to a new fiscal cycle, with a fall budget as the new timeline going forward, and spring economic and fiscal update.
‘I don’t know that the government currently has fiscal anchors, which, of course, causes the people that I work with a considerable degree of concern at this point,’ says interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques.
A 41-per-cent drop in planned spending by 2028 is largely due to limited-time funding for certain projects coming to a close, but the department says it will seek to renew ‘sunset funding’ for ‘critical activities’ in upcoming budgets.
Métis National Council president Victoria Pruden says Indigenous governments are ready to oversee the delivery of some services themselves—‘a win-win’ for a department that could reduce ‘administrative bloat.’
HR teams have grown into sprawling bureaucracies, often mirrored by similar functions hidden within other branches. These duplications add cost, complexity, and confusion.
With billions on the line and a track record of failed targets, how PSPC plans to deliver on its goals is unclear from its recent departmental plan. ‘Fact is, if the department can’t meet the expectations of delivery for this new government, then heads will roll,’ says Sahir Khan.
These organizations and departments are requesting funding representing an increase of 25 per cent or more compared to the 2024-25 main estimates.
Former NDP MP Peter Julian says pharmacare, in its current state, was only meant to be the initial step to universal drug coverage, and it’s ‘profoundly disappointing’ the Throne Speech gave ‘clear signalling’ the Liberals have no plans to proceed to the next stage.
The total budgetary ask represents an 8.4 per cent jump over last year’s spending document, and includes $73.4-billion in special warrants issued while Parliament was prorogued.
The concession comes in the wake of a Jan. 22 PBO report that found ‘a significant portion’ of that money ‘was included in the fiscal framework at the time of Budget 2024.’
Last year saw a considerable jump in lost federal revenue, from $14.3-million in 2022-23 to roughly $252.9-million.
Disregarding fiscal anchors has become ‘a unique feature’ of the current government, says Chrétien-era Finance Canada official Eugene Lang.
