Finance Minister Bill Morneau will release the Trudeau government’s final budget of its mandate Tuesday, just seven months before the next federal election.
Here are some things to watch for:
A boost to skills training
The government says it wants to help workers adapt to the rapidly changing needs of the modern workforce. The budget is expected to announce measures to help Canadians cover their bills if they choose to head back to school to upgrade their skills or to change careers. Morneau has also said he wants to make sure workers have dedicated time off so they can get that skills training. As part of the package, the Liberals plan to create a lifelong savings account for adults after drawing inspiration from a similar program launched a few years ago in Singapore, said a government source, who was not authorized to speak publicly because the plan is not yet released. The program is expected to share traits with Canada’s registered education savings plan (RESP), but be aimed at mid-career adults rather than youth. In late 2017, Morneau’s council of economic advisers recommended such a program, which the group called the “Canada Lifelong Learning Fund.”
Helping more millennials buy homes
The budget will include plans to help more first-time buyers enter the housing market, changes that will arrive at a time of out-of-reach real estate prices in some parts of the country. Morneau has said he’s particularly focused on helping millennials, a generation of people who are now in their mid-20s to late 30s. His budget will make home-buying more affordable with a series of changes affecting housing supply, demand and regulation, a government source said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gets a hug as he visits caregivers and their family members at Malvern Family Resource Centre in Toronto on March 31, 2017. The Trudeau government is launching two new immigration pilot programs that will allow caregivers to come to Canada with their families while also offering them the opportunity to become permanent residents. Under the newly designed programs, caregivers will be given greater flexibility to change jobs quickly, if needed. Current barriers that prevent caregivers’ family members from coming with them to Canada will also be removed, and open work permits will be offered to their spouses and common-law partners as well as study permits for dependent children. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, greets a customer while campaigning with Richard T. Lee, not seen, the Liberal candidate in the Burnaby South byelection, at a cafe in Burnaby, B.C., on Monday February 11, 2019. Federal byelections will be held on Feb. 25 in three vacant ridings – Burnaby South, where NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is hoping to win a seat in the House of Commons, the Ontario riding of York-Simcoe and Montreal’s Outremont. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a town hall at University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan on Thursday January 10, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael Bell
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, introduces Chinese Premier Li Keqiang after speaking to a business luncheon, Friday, September 23, 2016 in Montreal. Canada and China have agreed not to engage in state-sponsored hacking of each other’s trade secrets and business information. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau scratches his forehead as he listens to a question during an end of session news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
In this Nov. 14, 2018 photo, Canada’s Ambassador to China John McCallum sits next to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, during a bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Singapore. Canadian diplomats have been granted consular access to Michael Spavor, one of two Canadians arrested in China earlier this week.In a statement, Global Affairs says McCallum, Canada’s ambassador to China, met with Spavor today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, poses for a photo with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his wife Gurkiran Singh, centre, at the Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner at the Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., on Saturday, May 26, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a ceremony at the Bhartiya Cultural Society of Alberta during a visit to Edmonton on Wednesday September 5, 2018.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau uses a smoke wand during a demonstration of air flow over a car during a visit to the University of Ontario’s Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ont. on Friday August 31, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pose for a photo at the Ontario Legislature, in Toronto on Thursday, July 5, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on as Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi speaks during an infrastructure announcement in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, May 15, 2018.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Bill Blair is congratulated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after being sworn in as Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau poses for a selfie with a woman and man at a Canada Day barbecue in Dawson City, Yukon, on Sunday, July 1, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greets a group of kids during Canada Day festivities in Leamington Ont. Sunday, July 1, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Geoff Robins
Ontario Premier Doug Ford (right) sits with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Ontario Legislature, in Toronto on Thursday, July 5, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Chief Minister of Punjab Amarinder Singh in Amritsar, India on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Ontario Premier Doug Ford greets Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Ontario Legislature, in Toronto on Thursday, July 5, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives at a coffee shop in Prince Rupert, B.C. on Thursday, June 21, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, and children, Xavier, 10, Ella-Grace, 9, visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. The national security and intelligence committee of parliamentarians has delivered a special report to Justin Trudeau on the prime minister’s ill-fated trip to India. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at a press conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 20, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, shakes hand with Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer at the start of the Defi Pierre Lavoie, a 1000km bicycle trek, Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Saguenay Que.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the G7 leaders summit in La Malbaie, Que., on Friday, June 8, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau walk with their daughter Ella-Grace as they arrive to vote at a returning office ahead of the Ontario Provincial election, in Ottawa on Friday, May 25, 2018. Ontarians go to the polls June 7, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes an infrastructure announcement in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, May 15, 2018.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne wave to the crowd at the federal Liberal national convention in Halifax on Friday, April 20, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, share a moment with Holocaust survivor Nate Leipciger, left, after delivering remarks at the March of Living 30th anniversary gala in Toronto on Tuesday, May 8, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waves upon his arrival to Lima, Peru, Thursday, April 12, 2018. Trudeau is in Lima to attend the Summit of the Americas which begins tomorrow. (AP Photo/Juan Pablo Azabache)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Minister of Canadian Heritage Melanie Joly and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau make an announcement on bilingualism at Ecole elementaire publique Mauril-Belanger in Ottawa on Wednesday, March 28, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, tries to adjust his socks as ICICI bank CEO Chanda Kochhar looks on during Canada India Mumbai Business form in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with workers during a visit to Stelco Hamilton Works in Hamilton Ont., Tuesday, March 13, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tara Walton
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is greeted by U.S. President Donald Trump as he arrives at the White House in Washington, D.C., on October 11, 2017. A progressive group says it’s baffled that the Canadian government has worked at the NAFTA negotiating table to protect a dispute resolution system that allows companies to sue governments, estimating it has cost Canadian taxpayers $314 million. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says in a report to be published Tuesday that Chapter 11 provisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement have cost Canada $95 million in unrecoverable legal fees, calculated based on data it obtained through an access to information request. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is greeted by U.S. President Donald Trump as he arrives at the White House in Washington, D.C., on October 11, 2017. A progressive group says it’s baffled that the Canadian government has worked at the NAFTA negotiating table to protect a dispute resolution system that allows companies to sue governments, estimating it has cost Canadian taxpayers $314 million. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says in a report to be published Tuesday that Chapter 11 provisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement have cost Canada $95 million in unrecoverable legal fees, calculated based on data it obtained through an access to information request. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, shakes hand with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau before their meeting in New Delhi, India, Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. Trudeau is in India on a weeklong visit aimed at enhancing business ties between the two countries. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, centre, stands beside Surrey Centre MP Randeep Sarai, top middle right, as they join fellow MPs for a group photo while visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is greeted by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi as he arrives for an official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, India on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers a joint statement with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Minister of Finance Bill Morneau walks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as they leave his office on route to deliver the federal budget in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the joint press statement at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on Feb 23, 2018. (Photo: /PIB)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, second left, with his son Hadrien, daughter Ella-Grace, second left, and former Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin, center, clap after prime minister’s son Xavier hits a ball while trying his hand in cricket in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
New Delhi: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau visit the Jama Masjid along with their children Ella-Grace Margaret Trudeau, Xavier James Trudeau and Hadrien Trudeau in New Delhi on Feb 22, 2018. (Photo: )
Amritsar: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau along with his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and children help in preparing Guru Ka Langar during their visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Feb 21, 2018. (Photo: )
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, speaks as ICICI bank CEO Chanda Kochhar looks on during Canada India Mumbai Business form in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in an armchair discussion as part of a lunar new year celebration with Liberal members of parliament, supporters, and community leaders, in Markham, Ont., on Thursday, February 15, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, their sons Hadrien and Xavier, daughter Ella-Grace, second right, pose for the photographs in front of Taj Mahal, in Agra, India, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in India on Saturday for a weeklong visit with his family and aimed at enhancing business ties between the two countries. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, their sons Hadrien and Xavier and daughter Ella-Grace, front centre, greet with a traditional Indian “namaste” as they step out of the aircraft upon their arrival at the Palam Air Force Station in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the crowd during the annual India day parade in Montreal, Sunday, August 20, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday, January 23, 2018 in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Forum. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti take a selfie with some tourists while hiking during a visit to Griffith Park Saturday, February 10, 2018 in Los Angeles.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question during Question Period in the House of Commons, Monday, February 5, 2018 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand
(Early) steps toward national pharmacare
The Liberals also plan to move toward their two main goals on pharmacare: keeping costs down and ensuring better coverage for everyone. Earlier this month, an advisory panel assembled by Ottawa released an interim report that recommended the federal government create a new agency to oversee the rollout of a national drug plan, the first part of a much broader pharmacare program. The panel, led by former Ontario health minister Eric Hoskins, said the federal government should also develop a national list of drugs to ensure consistent coverage across the country. It called for funding to gather better data on prescription medications. Some have high hopes Tuesday’s budget will include an extensive pharmacare component, but a government source said any firm commitments won’t go much beyond the interim report’s recommendations.
On or off the fiscal track?
In November, Morneau predicted annual deficits of $18.1 billion in 2018-19, $19.6 billion in 2019-20 and $18.1 billion in 2020-21. After 2020-21, the annual shortfalls were expected to shrink each year, reaching $11.4 billion in 2023-24. Ottawa’s fiscal track promises to be a key issue in the October election campaign _ with Liberals calling for investments to lift long-term growth and the Opposition Conservatives demanding balanced books to ensure future generations aren’t stuck with the tab.
Lifeline for the news industry
The Trudeau government is due to deliver an update to its plan to support the ailing journalism industry. Last fall, it announced new tax credits and incentives worth $595 million over the next five years. Ottawa said it would create an independent panel of experts from the journalism community to seek advice on the measures and, in particular, define which outlets will be eligible for a refundable tax credit on labour costs. But it has yet to assemble the panel, which has raised concerns in the news industry that the support is taking too long to materialize. A spokesman for Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said last week that the budget will lay out details of the measures announced in the fall.