On April 16, 2024, the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, presented the federal government’s budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. This article highlights the key points from the budget.

Highlights for the Philanthropic Sector

  • Allocation of $8.5 billion for housing.
  • Objective of making 3.87 million net new housing units by 2031, with an additional allocation of $1.3 billion over four years to address homelessness and encampments.
  • Initiatives targeting millennials and Generation Z, including modifications to the Home Buyer’s Plan and student loans and grants.
  • Creation of a new disability benefit with funding of $6.1 billion over six years, offering a maximum benefit amount of $2,400 per year.
  • CBC/Radio-Canada programming funding increased by $42 million.
  • Funding for a national volunteer strategy in partnership with Volunteer Canada, establishment of the Care Economy Sector Table for a possible national caregiving strategy.
budget du Fédéral 2024-2025

Budget 2024-2025 in brief

Alternative Minimum Tax

The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is a parallel tax calculation that provides fewer tax credits, deductions, and exemptions than regular personal income tax rules. Taxpayers pay either regular tax or AMT, whichever is higher. The 2023 budget announced changes that would significantly alter the AMT calculation.

Following consultations on these legislative proposals, Budget 2024 proposes to:

  • revise the tax treatment of charitable donations to allow individuals to claim 80% (instead of 50% as previously proposed) of the charitable donations tax credit.

Education and Youth

  • $1.1 billion to enhance grants and interest-free loans, helping 587,000 and 682,000 students respectively.
  • Estimated additional assistance for approximately 79,000 students per year, at a total cost of $154.6 million over five years.
  • Launch of a $1 billion, five-year National School Food Program to expand access to school food programs, reaching more than 400,000 children.
  • Relaxation of eligibility conditions for GST exemption on new student residences.
  • Allocation of $207.6 million to the Student Work Placement Program to create more work-integrated learning opportunities.
  • Creation of 90,000 job placement and employment opportunities for young people, with an investment of $351.2 million.
  • Creation of a five-year, $500 million fund to ensure access to mental health services for young people.
  • Investment of $39.2 million in CanCode to help students acquire programming skills.
  • Allocation of $67.5 million to support after-school learning and help all students realize their potential.

Families

  • Launching a $1 billion Childcare Expansion Loan Program to build more childcare spaces and renovate existing facilities.

Youth Entrepreneurship

  • Funding of $60 million over five years to Futurpreneur Canada to provide young entrepreneurs with access to financing, mentoring and other support to launch and grow their businesses.

More Affordable Housing

  • New plan to bring 250,000 new homes onto the market by 2031, using public lands for residential purposes.
  • Target of two million net new homes, in addition to the 1.87 million already planned.
  • Additional funding of $15 billion for accelerated construction of rental apartments.
  • Launch of the Canada Builds program to build affordable housing on underutilized land.
  • Allocation of an additional $400 million to the Housing Accelerator Fund for more than 750,000 housing units over the next 10 years.
  • Launch of the $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund to protect affordable housing.

Health

  • Investment of over $200 billion over 10 years to strengthen universal public healthcare.
  • Establishment of a new national drug plan with initial funding of $1.5 billion over five years.
  • Introduction of the Canadian Dental Care Plan to ensure access to necessary dental care across the country, covering nine million people by 2025.
  • Creation of a Canada Disability Benefit with an investment of $6.1 billion over six years, complementing provincial and territorial benefits.

Indigenous Peoples

The Canadian government is committed to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples by investing in key areas such as health, education, housing, and infrastructure.

  • Nearly $243 million to support the next generation of First Nations, Inuit and Métis students at the university, college, and post-secondary levels, complementing previous investments.
  • Investment of $1.1 billion in First Nations K-12 education programs, and $242.7 million to increase access to post-secondary education.
  • More than $927 million to help cover the costs of daily living for on-reserve residents and eligible First Nations people in Yukon.
  • For the first time, an investment is made in national income assistance programs for Indigenous peoples with disabilities.
  • Investment of $1.8 billion to help Indigenous communities exercise their jurisdiction over child and family services.
  • An additional investment of $96 million to support residential school victims and their communities.
  • More than $290 million to support Indigenous peoples’ efforts to revitalize Indigenous languages and cultures.
  • Renewed support for Indigenous entrepreneurship, with up to $5 billion in loan guarantees to facilitate access to capital for Indigenous communities and foster innovation-led growth.
  • Substantial funds allocated to support Indigenous entrepreneurship, tourism, clean energy projects, as well as to improve housing and community infrastructure on reserves and in Indigenous communities.
  • Investment of $1.1 billion to ensure fair and equal access to healthcare for Indigenous peoples, as well as more than $630 million for mental health services.
  • Allocation of $350 million over five years to Indigenous Financial Institutions, including $30 million for Métis Capital Corporations, to support Indigenous-owned businesses.
  • Investment of $918 million, in addition to the $5 billion already available to communities in 2024-2025, to support housing and community infrastructure.
  • $124 million to support Nutrition North Canada and the Inuit Nunangat Food Security Strategy.
  • Investment of over $175 million to help communities cope with natural disasters.
  • More than $467 million to address policing needs and support Indigenous justice programs.

Environment

  • Creation of Pituamkek National Park Reserve in Prince Edward Island.
  • Establishment of the Central Coast National Marine Conservation Area Reserve in the Great Bear Sea, British Columbia.
  • Creation of the Ojibwe National Urban Park in Windsor, Ontario.

Research

  • Investment of over $2.4 billion to strengthen Canada’s advantage in artificial intelligence.
  • Enhanced support for research with a $3.5 billion investment in new strategic research infrastructure and federal research grants.
  • Modernizing tax incentives for scientific research and experimental development with $600 million in funding.

Hate Speech and Access to Legal Aid

  • Proposed funding of $273.6 million for Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate, including measures such as community outreach, law enforcement reform and victim support.
  • $440 million in funding for access to legal aid in the criminal justice system.

Increased Tax Credits for Volunteer Firefighters and Search and Rescue Volunteers

  • Budget 2024 proposes to double tax credits for volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers who perform at least 200 hours of combined volunteer service during the year. These credits will increase from $3,000 to $6,000 starting in 2024.

Tax Measures for Charitable Organizations

  • Budget 2024 proposes to extend by 12 months (for a total of 36 months) the period for which an eligible foreign charity obtains qualified donee status. This measure would apply to charities the day after budget day.
  • The budget also announces the government’s intention to modernize the way the CRA communicates with charities, and to simplify the issuance of official donation receipts to better align the process with modern practices. These measures would apply as of the date of Royal Assent.

For full details of the 2024-2025 federal budget, see the government’s detailed plan.