By Erik Hertzberg
(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to change when Canada releases major fiscal documents, moving the country’s federal budget to the fall on an ongoing basis.
On Monday, Finance Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne said the government would be “modernizing the budget cycle” by releasing key fiscal documents later in the calendar year.
He also offered up a broad definition of how the government plans to label capital investment expenditures, earmarking any spending or tax relief that “contributes to public or private sector capital formation” that ends up being held directly on a balance sheet.
“By moving to a fall budget cycle and introducing a new capital budgeting framework, we’re making better-timed and more transparent decisions,” Champagne said in prepared remarks.
Carney had already pushed back the timing of the budget to Nov. 4, but typically it’s released in the first half of the year. An April election and the ongoing trade dispute with U.S. have been cited as reasons for the delay.
The government said the change will offer “greater predictability” and planning for organizations, firms and investors, and align better with the construction season to give housing builders and investors more lead time for their upcoming projects.
Capital transfers to provinces to invest in infrastructure or productive assets, capital-focused tax incentives, amortization of federal capital, and private sector research and development would all be considered capital investment.
–With assistance from Brian Platt.
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Last modified: October 6, 2025
