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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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Trade Tensions Stall Canada’s Growth in Q2 2025

                                            A railway grain terminal in Alberta. 

Canada’s economy contracted sharply in the second quarter of 2025, underscoring the toll that escalating trade tensions have taken on the country’s growth. Statistics Canada reported a 1.6% annualized decline in real GDP, far steeper than the 0.5% drop economists had anticipated.

The slowdown was most pronounced in the spring, when tariff uncertainty disrupted exports and dampened business investment. June saw a 0.1% month-over-month GDP dip, while a preliminary estimate for July suggested only a modest 0.1% rebound.

The Bank of Canada had already projected a significant contraction for the quarter, citing the drag from U.S. tariffs and weaker global demand. Analysts note that further softness in the labour market could influence the central bank’s next interest rate decision.

The downturn follows a surprisingly strong first quarter, when GDP grew 2.2% as companies rushed to ship goods ahead of tariff deadlines. With trade negotiations still unresolved, economists warn that uncertainty could continue to weigh on Canada’s economic momentum into the second half of the year.

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