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Budget Day 2026: What a $63B+ Deficit Means for Your Wallet

  Canadian Money Brief • Thursday, November 5, 2026 Ottawa tables its second Carney-era budget today. Almost everyone expects big spending. Hardly anyone expects it to help their own bank account. Here is what the numbers say, and what to do about it. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says today’s budget is about “changing Canada’s growth model”: less reliance on the U.S., more building at home. That is a big-picture pitch. Your household budget is a small-picture problem, and a new Abacus Data poll shows the gap between the two is wide. The poll in one line: only 10% of Canadians expect Budget 2026 to make their household better off. 30% expect to be worse off, and 48% expect little difference. (Abacus Data, 1,809 adults, Oct. 30 to Nov. 3.) The deficit, in plain numbers The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) is the government’s independent fiscal referee. Its latest outlook, which predates the budget and only counts measures already announced, sets the stage: PBO proj...

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Canadian Rent Market Cools: Average Asking Rent Hits 18-Month Low

Canada’s rental market is showing signs of relief for tenants as average asking rents fell to $2,100 in January 2025—an 18‐month low that represents a 4.4% year-over-year decline.

This marks the fourth consecutive month of annual decreases following 38 straight months of rising rents, indicating a potential turning point in the market.

The drop was most pronounced in the secondary rental market, with condo apartments decreasing by 6.5% and houses and townhomes by 8.9%, while purpose-built rental apartments experienced a modest decline of just 1.7%.

Urbanation President Shaun Hildebrand attributed the downward trend to heightened economic risks, a slowdown in international population inflows, and multi-decade highs in apartment completions, all of which are contributing to improved affordability for renters.

Regional differences remain notable: Ontario recorded the steepest decline, with apartment rents dropping 5.2% to an average of $2,329, whereas British Columbia—despite a 2.6% decrease—remains the priciest rental market at $2,463.

Despite these declines, current rental prices are still 5.2% higher than they were two years ago and 16.4% above rates from three years ago, underscoring persistent pressures in the market.

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