Toronto/CMEDIA: Ahead of the fall budget, reportedly a series of affordability measures making good on some spring campaign commitments were announced last week by Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The government will make tax filing easier, protect the school food program, and lower costs for families travelling over the holidays, Carney said on Friday at a recreation centre in his Ottawa riding,
After years of the move being something Liberals have vowed to do, Carney said, is starting automatic tax filing, for some.
Starting in the 2026 tax year, Carney continued, the Canada Revenue Agency will be automatically filing taxes for up to 5.5 million low-income Canadians to ensure they receive the federal benefits they qualify for, such as the Canada Child Benefit and the GST/HST credit.
“The situation is that millions of lower income Canadians don’t file their taxes, either because they don’t have the resources to do so, or because they think that their income is too low for it to matter, and that means too often that the people who most need benefits often don’t get them,” Carney said.
Full scaling up of this system is expected to take until 2028.
Making the national school food program permanent
Also moving ahead with making the national school food program permanent enabling the federal government in providing meals for an estimated 400,000 children, Carney is committing to working with provinces, territories and Indigenous partners “to expand the program into more schools.”
Carney added that the Liberals will also be advancing the funding and legislation needed to cement the program as part of Canada’s social safety net.
“Until today, this program was a pilot. It was temporary, with only three years of funding remaining, but the challenges that it addresses are essential. They’re fundamental,” Carney said.
Both of these measures were promised by the Liberals during the 2025 federal election campaign.
Renewal of “Canada Strong Pass”
Carney said the federal government is building on another electoral pledge in renewing the “Canada Strong Pass” which lowers the cost for families to visit museums, historic sites, parks and travel.
Since the start of the program, this summer saw visits rise at sites nationwide, calling it “a big hit.”
“And since no one can possibly experience all that Canada has to offer in just a few short months, we’re renewing it.”
With the pass being revived starting on Dec. 12, 2025, to Jan. 15, 2026, and then again next summer would enable students ages 18 to 24 travelling home for the holidays to claim a 25 percent discount on Via Rail tickets.
The Nov. 4 federal budget, the prime minister said, would include these measures and will be considered “operational” rather than “capital” expenditures.
