{"id":635020,"date":"2026-04-28T22:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T22:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/635020\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T22:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T22:10:08","slug":"spring-economic-update-ottawa-announces-6-billion-to-boost-skilled-trades-smaller-deficit-projection-of-66-9-billion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/635020\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring economic update: Ottawa announces $6-billion to boost skilled trades, smaller deficit projection of $66.9-billion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Finance Minister Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne and Prime Minister Mark Carney before delivering the spring economic update on Tuesday in Ottawa.Justin Tang\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Finance Minister Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne released a spring economic statement Tuesday that accounts for more than $54-billion in new spending over six years since the November budget, while still beating Ottawa\u2019s deficit targets thanks to improved forecasts for growth.<\/p>\n

Much of that new spending includes recent multibillion-dollar announcements such as boosting the GST credit and a short-term break on gas taxes.<\/p>\n

The major new funding announced for the first time Tuesday includes about $6-billion over five years for a package of incentives aimed at education and the skilled trades, which the government calls \u201cTeam Canada Strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Prime Minister Mark Carney<\/a>\u2019s government prioritizes major new infrastructure and energy projects, the package is aimed at ensuring Canada has the skilled labour available to take on the expected boost in construction jobs across the country.<\/p>\n

Nine highlights from the spring economic update<\/a><\/p>\n

Canadian workers and employers will also get a break on Canada Pension Plan premiums. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, the base contribution rate will drop to 9.5 per cent, from 9.9 per cent.<\/p>\n

The government says this will translate into annual savings of about $133 for an employee earning $70,000 a year, with equivalent savings for their employer, who also pays CPP premiums. The measure is worth $3-billion a year, which is covered by the CPP\u2019s own assets and is not a government expense.<\/p>\n

The Liberals are delivering the update on the one-year anniversary of winning a minority government, a victory that turned on Mr. Carney promising Canadians he had the best plan to keep the country\u2019s economy on solid footing despite the geopolitical earthquakes triggered by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

This is the first spring update since the government reversed the order in which it releases its key financial reports. The government now tables its budget in the fall instead of the spring, and releases an update in the spring instead of the fall.<\/p>\n

Liberals plan to grow sovereign wealth fund by recycling money from airports, other federal assets<\/a><\/p>\n

Polls suggest the Carney government is still riding high in the minds of voters, but at the same time, they want to see more action on domestic affordability issues.<\/p>\n

The package of measures tied to the update, including preannounced initiatives in recent weeks, are worth about $40-billion over six years, and the GST credit and gas-tax breaks are aimed at addressing those consumer-focused concerns. <\/p>\n

The skilled-trades package includes a pledge to recruit, train and hire 80,000 to 100,000 new skilled-trades workers. The measures include a \u201cBuild Canada Apprenticeship Service\u201d that offers employers up to $10,000 in wage subsidies for the first year of hiring on apprentice workers. There will also be grants of up to $16,000 an apprentice to help offset the cost of training.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis means real pathways into skilled trades with paid training and hands-on experience,\u201d Mr. Champagne told the House of Commons. \u201cIt means more opportunities for employers to hire and train young workers. It means a $5,000 bonus when you complete your Red Seal certification. And most importantly, it means being part of building a stronger Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carney\u2019s building agenda could be hamstrung by labour shortages, Deloitte report says<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Champagne\u2019s update shows an estimated deficit of $66.9-billion for the 2025-26 fiscal year, an $11.5-billion improvement over what the government had projected in the Nov. 4 budget. The deficit for the current fiscal year is now projected to be $65.3-billion, roughly unchanged from the figure in the budget. The government could have shown a smaller deficit for the current year. The update says the figure stood at $49.7-billion before adding new spending since the budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanadians expect us to be good stewards of our economy, and manage our public finances with thoughtful fiscal discipline,\u201d Mr. Champagne told MPs.<\/p>\n

The better fiscal picture is the result of stronger-than-expected economic growth in the second half of 2025, as well as windfall gains from the oil price surge resulting from the war in the Middle East. <\/p>\n

Higher oil prices mean more corporate and personal income-tax revenue pouring into government coffers. The spring economic update revised the projection for income taxes up by $8.6-billion a year, on average, over the five-year horizon, compared with the fall budget, partly offset by lower goods and services tax revenue.<\/p>\n

A lot depends on how long oil prices remain high, which will be determined primarily by U.S.-Iran peace talks. <\/p>\n

Federal tax break on diesel not enough to make up for rapid rise in prices, industry players say<\/a><\/p>\n

The group of Bay Street economists whose forecast underpins the budget projection significantly upgraded their expectation for nominal GDP growth, but slightly trimmed their forecast for real GDP growth. And they cautioned that there are downside risks to the economy, including persistent trade tensions with the United States, which are weighing heavily on business investment.<\/p>\n

Rebekah Young, Bank of Nova Scotia\u2019s vice-president of economic policy, said much of the fiscal improvement is due to improved revenue forecasts. She said the government is devoting more of those revenue gains to new spending than she had expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have anticipated more conservatism in the fiscal developments given the uncertainties we have ahead,\u201d she said. \u201cBut there\u2019s a hefty spending package here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre sharply criticized the government\u2019s deficit spending in in his response to Mr. Champagne\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time they use the word invest, what they mean is to add more debt. Today we got more costs, more debt, more taxes and more on the national credit card. What we need is not a credit card economy. We need a paycheck economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The big announcement heading into the update was the creation of a sovereign wealth fund, through which the federal government will invest in major projects. Its initial budget of $25-billion will be funded through public debt. It is not listed as an expense that affects the deficit in the update because the government treats that amount as an asset.<\/p>\n

Mr. Carney and Mr. Champagne announced the sovereign wealth fund on Monday.<\/p>\n

Ottawa draws mixed reviews with new sovereign wealth fund to finance major projects<\/a><\/p>\n

Numerous questions remain about how the fund will work in practice but the update drops a new detail: In addition to the $25-billion, Ottawa will look for other ways to fund it, including by generating money from existing government assets, including possible privatization efforts.<\/p>\n

The update says in another section that the government is looking at changes related to airports. <\/p>\n

The document says Ottawa is \u201cassessing opportunities to unlock the full value of airports in support of investments in Canada\u2019s long-term growth, including through alternative models of ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also says the government will bring in legislation \u201cto ensure it can obtain the information necessary for a comprehensive evaluation of airport reforms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another area of new spending announced Tuesday is $755-million over five years, starting in 2026-27, and $118-million continuing, to support the sports system.<\/p>\n

The funding includes money for Canada to host events but more is going directly to athletes and sporting organizations.<\/p>\n

The Carney government has previously committed to speeding up how the Canadian Armed Forces buys what it needs to defend the country at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

The update proposes a new step for that process: turning the Defence Investment Agency into a stand-alone entity and giving it a dedicated cabinet minister. The update allocates $103.8-million for this to happen.<\/p>\n

Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly said the CPP premium reductions were a welcome surprise and he liked the focus on skills training. <\/p>\n

But over all, he said, the update reinforces concern that the government\u2019s economic agenda is more focused on major projects and large corporations. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like this is a very top-down approach and not one that stimulates entrepreneurship,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Finance Minister Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne and Prime Minister Mark Carney before delivering the spring…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":635021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44,714],"class_list":["post-635020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}