Carney’s Budget:
Who has the government’s support, who influences decisions, and who gets left behind?
Mark Carney and François-Philippe Champagne just tabled their first budget.
On October 6, 2025, the government revealed they're fundamentally changing how budgets work: shifting to fall timing (Budget 2025 drops November 4th), creating a new "Capital Budgeting Framework," and distinguishing between day-to-day spending and capital investment. But who influenced these changes? What voices shaped this new direction?
I reviewed over 1,000 pre-budget recommendations that helped set the stage for this transformation: Nonprofits, Industry Associations, Business Coalitions, Municipalities, Unions and more. I took their recommendations verbatim as they appeared in their submission and separated the types of requests (direct funding, policy consideration, tax amendment etc) and pulled out any quantified costs.
The full budget is a nearly 500 pages and it’s full of a lot of math. But primarily a budget is communications document that signals to Canada: this is what our government values, this is what we’ll invest in, and here’s who we want to be in the world.
Your toolkit for understanding the ‘modern’ budget
This database becomes even more valuable as Canada reshapes its fiscal approach:
Historical Record: These submissions represent the last major consultation under the previous system—a snapshot of what different sectors prioritized before the shift.
Framework Analysis: See which requests align with the new "capital investment" focus versus "day-to-day operations"—and who benefits from this distinction.
Influence Tracking: Identify which organizations' requests match the government's new priorities around productivity, competitiveness, and capital formation.
Accountability Tool: Compare what organizations asked for privately with what gets implemented in the new framework.
Democratic Insight: As pre-budget consultations move to summer timing, understand how different voices competed for influence in this transitional moment.
Which values were left out?
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The government substantially ignored or rejected demands from advocacy groups focused on deep affordability.
For instance, the Social Housing & Human Rights Coalition advocated for creating a minimum of 50,000 net new rent-geared-to-income (RGI) social housing units annually for ten years. Similarly, ACORN Canada called for plugging tax loopholes that benefit Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to mandate a social housing component.
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Demands for large, immediate expansions of social programs were largely deferred. Proposals to significantly increase funding or expand eligibility for the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) or detach it from the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) were not met with new funding allocations, although the government committed to "Lowering Barriers to Access the Canada Disability Benefit".
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Similarly, powerful demands from unions and advocacy groups for robust Employment Insurance (EI) emergency measures, such as providing guaranteed 52 weeks of benefits or a $600 weekly minimum , were not adopted. The government pushed forward with plans laying off thousands of public sector employees, and labour requests to have a seat at the table for AI discussions (to address automation, job loss, creator rights etc) were largely ignored.
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This budget explicitly avoided high-revenue progressive tax reforms requested by advocacy groups and unions. Recommendations such as raising the corporate tax rate to 21% (CUPE), implementing windfall taxes on oil and gas profits (Environmental Defence), or establishing a wealth tax (ACORN Canada, Broadbent Institute) were not adopted.
The new Capital Budgeting Framework is not neutral—it will reshape which voices get heard and which solutions get funded. This database shows you who benefits and who gets left behind.
Pre-budget submission not included that you want to see? Send me a message
Note: This is a grassroots human-built resource. While much effort has been made to ensure information is accurate, mistakes can happen. See a mistake? Send me a message