Federal Budget 2025 – Investments into the National Economy

• November 5^th, 2025
• Advocacy, Community
• challenges, chamber of commerce, federal budget, mark carney, health care, opportunities, spending, Waterloo Region, Advocacy

The first budget of the Mark Carney administration was tabled on November 4, 2025. The strategy tabled by Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is structured to attract investment and implement productivity incentives. The major challenge for the Prime Minister and his cabinet will be the actual implementation and execution of numerous new measures.

Success will also be highly dependent upon delivery, speed and public-private partnerships. The federal deficit, estimated at $78 billion and anticipated to decrease to $57 billion in 2029, could also limit overall budget effectiveness.

Specific measures for Canadian and local businesses include:

• A $51 billion (ten years) Build Communities Strong Fund to support critical infrastructure including healthcare, housing and community infrastructure. This measure is particularly significant for the Region of Waterloo as a new hospital proceeds through planning and construction;
• Defence – $81.8 billion over five years to rebuild and reinvest in the Canadian Armed Forces including $9 billion previously announced in June 2025. Also $6.6 billion over five years to strengthen the Canadian industry through a Defence Industrial Strategy. Canada will meet the NATO target of 2 percent of GDP spending on defence by March 2026;
• Four small modular reactors will be constructed next to the Darlington Nuclear Station as part of the nation-building initiative;
• Productivity Super Deductions – a collection of capital cost allowance measures that include immediate expensing for manufacturing and processing machinery, clean energy equipment, and productivity-enhancements such as patents and computers. The budget expands eligibility to include immediate expenses for new buildings acquired after Budget Day and utilized before 2030;
• The Regional Tariff Response will provide $1 billion over three years to Regional Development Agencies to support businesses impacted by tariffs;
• A new reskilling package for up to 50,000 workers, making Employment Insurance more flexible with extended benefits and a new digital jobs and training platform;
• The Accelerated Investment Incentive is extended however not permanent;
• A series of measures directed at consolidating public services with an estimated reduction of 16,000 full-time equivalents or approximately 4.5 percent of the March 2025 workforce. Over the past ten years, Canada’s federal public service has seen significant growth, increasing by 40 percent from 257,000 employees in 2015 to 368,000 in 2025, a rate that has outpaced population growth. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has been a consistent advocate for controlling government expenditures as private sector employment and related activity has decreased from the pandemic and other economic conditions;
• Reduction of temporary resident admissions from 673,650 (2025) to 385,00 (2026) and 370,000 (2027);
• The Comprehensive Expenditure Review (CER) is projected to provide $60 billion in total savings over five years.

No significant general corporate tax cuts are included as the government is directing resources into capital investments.

Our Chamber will be hosting events across the upcoming months with series of federal cabinet ministers where members can forward their perspectives on the future of the local and national economies. Details will be available shortly, but in the meantime, take a look at our current events calendar.

Written by: Art Sinclair, Vice President, Public Policy & Advocacy