{"id":732109,"date":"2026-06-12T14:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/732109\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T14:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:26:09","slug":"mark-carneys-economic-plan-has-medium-term-goals-but-we-need-affordability-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/732109\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Carney\u2019s economic plan has medium-term goals, but we need affordability now"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Prime Minister Mark Carney during question period on Parliament Hill on Tuesday. Recent polling by Abacus suggests the Prime Minister\u2019s extraordinary popularity is beginning to soften.Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s economic agenda<\/a> is centred on making Canada more productive, resilient and prosperous through major investments in housing, infrastructure, defence and artificial intelligence. The challenge is timing.<\/p>\n

Much of the Carney plan<\/a> is a medium-term project. New homes typically take years to complete. Major infrastructure projects often take a decade. Defence procurement moves slowly. AI data centres won\u2019t be transforming local economies overnight.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, millions of Canadians are struggling today.<\/p>\n

While Statistics Canada reports that wealth continued to grow<\/a> for the median Canadian in recent years, millions are excluded from that typical experience \u2013 especially younger generations and renters of any age. From high rents to large mortgages to rising grocery bills and the escalating cost of postsecondary education, 40 per cent of Canadians lay awake at night thinking about their finances, according to new data from United Way Centraide Canada<\/a>. They see Canada\u2019s economy generating wealth, just not for them. <\/p>\n

That frustration may be starting to show up politically. Recent polling by Abacus<\/a> suggests the Prime Minister\u2019s extraordinary popularity is beginning to soften. For Canadians looking for help now, the medium term can feel like a very long time away.<\/p>\n

To his credit, Mr. Carney acknowledges these financial pressures. <\/p>\n

After one year under Carney, results on trade diversification are mixed<\/a><\/p>\n

His new groceries and essentials benefit<\/a> provides a one-time payment worth a couple hundred dollars for eligible Canadians. The program\u2019s permanent 25-per-cent<\/a> increase will add roughly another $100 annually for many recipients. This comes on top of the Carney government\u2019s decision to reduce the lowest federal income-tax rate<\/a> shortly after the election, producing annual savings of up to $420 for some taxpayers, but only half that amount for those with modest incomes.<\/p>\n

However, these options offer relief measured in hundreds of dollars at a time when many Canadians face affordability challenges measured in thousands. <\/p>\n

A much more ambitious affordability agenda is possible. Ottawa could<\/a> add $5,000 annually to the incomes of every senior living below the poverty line, provide $3,000 in rent support for a million renters, increase the Canada Student Grant by thousands of dollars for the 586,000 students<\/a> who rely on it, expand affordable child care for 100,000 more children, and expand the Youth Climate Corps from B.C. to a national program that provides tens of thousands of young Canadians with jobs, skills training and leadership opportunities.<\/p>\n

Together, these are the kinds of investments that can meaningfully improve affordability now, while the government\u2019s longer-term strategy works to accelerate productivity over time.<\/p>\n

Whether one agrees with every item on that list is beside the point.<\/p>\n

What matters is that Ottawa has fiscal room right now to pursue affordability measures that inject thousands of dollars into the budgets of Canadians struggling most with housing, education, child care and income insecurity.<\/p>\n

The question is where the money would come from.<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister has already launched a review to identify savings throughout government. After asking departments to tighten their belts and scrutinizing spending across programs, Ottawa has identified roughly $12-billion annually in savings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That is a significant achievement.<\/p>\n

Opinion: A Prime Minister who has changed government rapidly but a country not yet transformed<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet, one of Ottawa\u2019s biggest affordability trade-offs remains largely absent from debate in the House of Commons.<\/p>\n

Ottawa is on track to spend roughly $17.5-billion<\/a> on Old Age Security subsidies for retirees living in households with six-figure incomes. These are not the seniors struggling to pay for groceries or housing. While many reasonably worry about future long-term care costs, this group is generally among the Canadians who enjoyed strong wealth gains over recent decades, and who largely preserved their financial security through the pandemic and subsequent inflation.<\/p>\n

Repurposing just half of this spending would nearly double the savings achieved through the government\u2019s expenditure review.<\/p>\n

The resulting fiscal room could finance the far more ambitious affordability agenda without increasing tax rates or adding to the federal deficit.<\/p>\n

That is the affordability choice now facing the Prime Minister: continue subsidizing retiree households with more than $100,000, or redirect some of that money to Canadians of all ages struggling with necessary costs of living. <\/p>\n

Mr. Carney\u2019s longer-term economic strategy matters. Canada does need more homes, more infrastructure, stronger productivity growth and greater economic resilience.<\/p>\n

But building Canada strong will take years. Millions of Canadians are looking for evidence that their government understands the financial pressures they face today, not just the prosperity it hopes to create tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Continuing to direct billions in subsidies to six-figure retiree households sends the opposite signal. <\/p>\n

Dr. Paul Kershaw is a policy professor at UBC and founder of Generation Squeeze<\/a>, Canada\u2019s leading voice for generational fairness. You can follow Gen Squeeze on X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, Bluesky<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>, as well as subscribe to Paul\u2019s Hard Truths podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n