Federal Fall Economic Statement 2024

December 17, 2024

The Government of Canada introduced its Fall Economic Statement (FES) in the House of Commons on Monday, December 16, 2024. No speech was provided to the House of Commons, but the Statement itself, entitled, Reducing Everyday Costs and Raising Wages, can be found here.

Due to the regisnation of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, the statement was tabled in the House of Commons by Government House Leader Karina Gould while Public Safety and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc was sworn in as Finance Minister at around the same time.The budget deficit is projected at almost $62 billion, substantially higher than the $40B target set by the former Finance Minister. 

Key Initiatives

• A tax break for all Canadians;
• $10-a-day childcare;
• More generous Canada Carbon Rebate rural top-ups;
• Stronger competition rules;
• Implementing Consumer-Driven Banking;
• Better low-cost and no-cost bank accounts;
• Cracking down on predatory lending;
• Penalizing predatory debt advisors; 
• Making automatic tax filing a reality; 
• More generous pensions for seniors; and
• Exempting the Canada Disability Benefit from tax.

Key Initiatives 

• Copyright: In FES 2024, the government proposes to amend the Copyright Act to establish an artist's resale right in Canada.
  • No other copyright issues were cited in the FES.
• Funding: No new investment to the Canada Council or main programs of Canadian Heritage were included in the FES. Other relevant funding includes:
  • $1 million over Supporting the 2025 National Canadian Film Day;
  • $20 million over three years proposed to Supporting Community Celebrations Across Canada;
  • $4 million over two years proposed to Toronto Caribbean Carnival via FedDev Ontario;
  • $10 million over two years proposed for CED (Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions) to support Igloofest Montréal, Les Francos de Montréal, Montreal High Lights festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival;
  • $5 million over five years proposed for PCH to support the programming and operations of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
  • $28 million over five years proposed for the CRA to support improvements to information reporting by non-profit organizations. Further details are included in Tax Measures: Supplementary Information.
• The 2024 Fall Economic Statement proposes to provide $36 million in 2025-26 to Employment and Social Development Canada for the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative which empowers Black-led, Black-serving, and Black-focused community organizations to promote inclusiveness.
• The 2024 Fall Economic Statement proposes to provide up to $500 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, on a cash basis, to the Business Development Bank of Canada to provide financing and expertise to help small- and medium-sized businesses adopt digital technologies, with a priority focus on AI. 

FES Stats

They key figures emerging from today’s Fall Economic Statement are as follows:

• Projected government spending for this year: $459.5 billion
• Projected government revenues for this year:? $514 billion
• Projected deficit: $62 billion (this marks an 55% increase over the prior year and $22 billion over the estimate provided by the Finance Minister months ago)
• Debt-to-GDP ratio: 42.1% for this year, not projected to fall below 40% until 2028. 

PACT will continue to work with our Advocacy Advisors PAA and the Canadian Arts Coalition on next steps.

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