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Budget 2023 
A Made-in-Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future

The 2023 federal budget is the government’s plan to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more secure Canadian economy—for everyone.

Highlights

Making Life More Affordable

Budget 2023 Investments

In Budget 2023, the government is introducing new, targeted inflation relief supports for Canadians. This new support has been carefully designed to avoid exacerbating inflation.

  • Through the new Grocery Rebate, Budget 2023 delivers targeted inflation relief for 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians and families who need it most, with up to an extra $467 for eligible couples with two children; an extra $234 for single Canadians without children; and an extra $225 for seniors, on average.
  • Cracking down on hidden junk fees, such as higher telecom roaming charges, event and concert fees, excessive baggage fees, and unjustified shipping and freight fees.
  • Cracking down on predatory lending by proposing to lower the criminal rate of interest.
  • Lowering credit card transaction fees for small businesses, while also protecting reward points for Canadians offered by Canada’s large banks.
  • Automatic tax filing for more low-income Canadians, to ensure they can easily file their tax returns in order to receive the benefits they are entitled to.
  • Helping post-secondary students to afford their education and pursue their dreams by increasing the Canada Student Grants and raising the interest-free Canada Student Loan limit.
  • Helping young Canadians save for their first home by launching the new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account on April 1, 2023.

Existing Supports

Since 2015, the federal government has made significant investments to support Canadians and make life more affordable. These have included:

  • One-time inflation relief payments to about 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians, worth up to $467 for a couple with two children, and up to $234 for a single Canadian without children.
  • An enhanced Canada Workers Benefit, which means families could receive up to $2,461 this year, and a single Canadian without children could receive up to $1,428.
  • Direct, tax-free payments of up to $1,300 per child over two years to eligible families to cover dental expenses for their children under 12.
  • A tax-free payment of $500 to help low-income people who are struggling with the cost of rent.
  • A ten per cent increase in Old Age Security (OAS) payments for seniors who are 75 and older, which is providing over $800 in new supports to full pensioners in the first year.
  • The tax-free Canada Child Benefit, to support about 3.5 million families annually, with up to $6,997 per child under the age of six, and up to $5,903 per child aged six through 17 this year.
  • Fighting climate change while making life more affordable with a federal price on pollution that puts more money back in the pockets of eight out of every ten Canadians in the provinces where it applies.
  • Reducing taxes for middle class Canadians while raising them on the wealthiest one per cent.
  • A nation-wide affordable Early Learning and Child Care system, with six provinces and territories providing regulated child care for an average of just $10-a-day or less by April 2, 2023,—significantly ahead of schedule. All other provinces and territories remain on track to achieve $10-a-day child care by 2026.

In addition, important benefits like the Canada Child Benefit, Canada Pension Plan, OAS, and the Guaranteed Income Supplement all keep pace with inflation.

Stronger Public Health and Dental Care

Improving Health Care

To ensure Canadians receive the care they deserve and need, Budget 2023 delivers an urgent, needed investment to strengthen our public health care system.

To strengthen Canada’s universal public health care system, Budget 2023 delivers $198.3 billion to reduce backlogs, expand access to family health services and ensure provinces and territories can provide the high quality and timely health care Canadians expect and deserve.

This includes $46.2 billion in new funding to provinces and territories through new Canada Health Transfer measures, as well as tailored bilateral agreements to meet the needs of each province and territory, personal support worker wage support, and a Territorial Health Investment Fund.

This funding is to be used to improve and enhance the health care Canadians receive, and is not to be used by provinces and territories in place of their planned health care spending.

In addition, the federal government will also work with Indigenous partners to provide additional support for Indigenous health priorities by providing $2 billion over ten years, which will be distributed on a distinctions basis through the Indigenous Health Equity Fund.

Dental Care

In Budget 2023, the federal government is moving forward with a transformative investment to provide dental care to Canadians who need it: the new Canadian Dental Care Plan.

Budget 2023 proposes to provide $13 billion over five years, starting in 2023-24, and $4.4 billion ongoing, to Health Canada to implement the new Canadian Dental Care Plan. The plan will provide dental coverage for uninsured Canadians with annual family income of less than $90,000, with no co-pays for those with family incomes under $70,000. The plan would begin providing coverage by the end of 2023 and will be administered by Health Canada, with support from a third-party benefits administrator.

In addition to cost, other factors may also prevent Canadians from accessing the dental care they need, such as living in a remote community, or requiring specialized care due to a disability.

Budget 2023 proposes to provide $250 million over three years, starting in 2025-26, and $75 million ongoing, to Health Canada to establish an Oral Health Access Fund. The fund will complement the Canadian Dental Care Plan by investing in targeted measures to address oral health gaps among vulnerable populations and reduce barriers to accessing care, including in rural and remote communities.

Other Investments

Access to Abortion and Other Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Services

Budget 2023 proposes to provide $36 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to Health Canada to renew the Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund. This fund supports community-based organizations that help make access to abortion, as well as other sexual and reproductive health care information and services, more accessible.

Fighting Crime and Saving Lives: Combatting the Opioid Crisis

Budget 2023 proposes to provide a total of $359.2 million over five years, starting in 2023-24, with $5.7 million ongoing and $1.3 million in remaining amortization, to support a renewed Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, which would guide the government’s work to save lives and protect the health and safety of Canadians. This includes funding for community supports, prevention programs, supervised consumption sites, and action to tackle drug trafficking.

Implementing the 988 Suicide Prevention Line

Budget 2023 proposes to provide $158.4 million over three years, starting in 2023-24, to the Public Health Agency of Canada to support the implementation and operation of 988. As of November 30, 2023, Canadians will be able to call or text 988 at any time to access quality, effective, and immediate suicide prevention and mental health crisis support.

Growing a Green Economy

Our Plan

Today, the world’s major economies are moving at an unprecedented pace to fight climate change, retool their economies, and build the net-zero industries of tomorrow. Budget 2023 investments in abundant and low-cost clean electricity will underpin other investments needed to create hundreds of thousands of middle class jobs, provide the energy that will power our daily lives and the entire Canadian economy, and provide more affordable energy to millions upon millions of Canadian homes.

Our made-in-Canada plan is underpinned by a new federal toolkit for investing in the clean economy: a set of clear and predictable investment tax credits, low-cost strategic financing, and targeted investments and programming, where necessary, to respond to the unique needs of sectors or projects of national economic significance.

By making significant investments to ensure Canada does not fall behind at this moment of profound global economic upheaval—and opportunity—Budget 2023 is ensuring a clean Canadian economy can deliver prosperity, middle class jobs, and more vibrant communities across Canada.

Our Priorities

  • Electrification
  • Clean Energy
  • Clean Manufacturing
  • Emissions Reduction
  • Critical Minerals
  • Infrastructure
  • Electric Vehicle & Batteries
  • Major Projects

More working age Canadians are employed now than ever before

830,000+ Canadians working today than before the pandemic
85.7% labour force participation for women ages 25 to 54 as of February 2023
126% jobs lost to COVID have been recovered as of February 2023

Measure finder

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Budget 2023 address

"I have never been more optimistic about the future of our country than I am today. Budget 2023 will deliver new, targeted inflation relief for the Canadians who need it most; stronger public health care, including dental care for millions of Canadians; and significant investments to build Canada’s clean economy. At a challenging time in a challenging world, there is no better place to be than Canada."

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

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