Liberals to table 'big, bold' federal budget Tuesday as Carney looks to put his stamp on government

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will deliver the new Liberal government’s first budget Tuesday that will be full of what he calls “generational investments” to spur growth and help the country weather the tariff-related economic storm.

While Champagne is the minister in charge of the file, Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former central banker, is uniquely interested in financial matters and has personally promised to present a pro-growth budget that will usher Canada into a “new era” and “define our next century.”

“We have the resources to transform our economy from one of reliance to resilience,” Carney told reporters Saturday after a nine-day swing through Asia designed to open up new markets for Canadian goods and services now that the U.S. relationship is on shaky ground.

Through a combination of funnelling public dollars into certain sectors and regulatory relief on major nation-building projects, Carney said he wants to “catalyze unprecedented investment in Canada” and build the country’s reputation as “an energy superpower,” given its huge reserves of oil and natural gas and expertise in renewables.

Champagne said Monday this budget will sketch out the Carney government's vision for the future, suggesting it will be more important than in years past given the multitude of challenges Canada is facing.

"This is a unique moment in our nation's history and we need to meet the moment and we're going to meet it together," he told reporters after buying a new pair of shoes ahead of the budget, as per Canadian parliamentary tradition.

"This is the kind of budget you will remember," he said. "Canadians have asked us to build big, bold things."

Whatever the ambition, tabling this document in Parliament is just the first step.

The minority Liberal government has 169 seats in the House of Commons and needs at least three members of the Opposition to support the budget if it has any chance of passing — although that number could fall to two if the Speaker is willing to break a tie. That equation could also change if some members abstain on the vote.

So far, the government doesn’t have the necessary support.

Both the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois have made a series of demands that aren’t expected to be met in exchange for their votes.

The Conservatives want a deficit at $42 billion or below — which is roughly what the last Liberal government said it would be this year — and that’s likely a non-starter given what the Liberals have already announced will be in this budget. One observer has said the deficit for this fiscal year could be as high as $100 billion.

There have been several pre-budget announcements, as far back as June that include but are not limited to:

Conversely, the Bloc wants more government largesse with higher pension payouts for seniors and more health-care spending, which is equally unlikely given this government’s commitment to tighten its belt and make what Carney has called “tough choices” and “sacrifices.”