Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the budget date in the House of Commons on Tuesday.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will release the federal government’s 2026 budget on Nov. 5.
The minister announced the date on Tuesday during the daily Question Period in the House of Commons.
“This plan will unlock investment, create high-paying jobs across our nation and strengthen our economy and our country for generations to come,” Mr. Champagne said.
That date means the Liberal government will table its fiscal plan days after the U.S. midterm elections, which are scheduled for Nov. 3.
Last year’s budget was released during the first week of November. It was the first to arrive through a new system brought in under Prime Minister Mark Carney in which budgets are tabled in the fall instead of the spring.
The government has said fall budgets help provinces and municipalities plan for the year ahead.
The shift also gives federal departments more time to incorporate budget decisions into their financial plans for the next fiscal year.
Earlier on Tuesday, Parliamentary Budget Officer Annette Ryan released a report saying while higher oil prices and other factors have provided a short-term boost to Ottawa’s bottom line, new spending announcements have already used all of that fiscal room and more.
The report said federal deficits are projected to be $3-billion higher annually over the next four years in comparison with the PBO’s most recent forecast in June.
Mr. Champagne’s spring update, released in April, projected a deficit of $65.3-billion for the current fiscal year and $63.1-billion the following year.