What do Canadians want to see in the upcoming federal budget?

Darren Major · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 15, 2024 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: April 15

All eyes will be on Ottawa on Tuesday as the federal government is set to deliver its annual budget.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers have been on a countrywide tour in recent weeks to make a series of pre-budget announcements. Many of those announcements have focused on housing, but Trudeau has also signalled the government’s intent to launch a national school food program and invest in the artificial intelligence sector.

CBC spoke with Canadians from across the country about what further budget items they hope to see on Tuesday. Here’s what we heard.

Housing

Despite the federal government’s pre-budget tour largely focusing on housing, a number of Canadians still listed it as their No. 1 priority.

“I want to see the housing — I mean a lot more commitment to housing —  to provide affordable housing to Canadians,” said Wisdom Wissi.

Mike Haddad from Toronto agreed, saying he’s concerned about future generations’ ability to afford a home.

“I think housing is a big issue. Affordability of housing. Being able to own anything. You can’t own anything anymore,” Haddad said.

Stephen Crego from B.C. said he’s concerned that he might have to move due to the high cost of rent in the province.

“The rent’s been way too high. It’s insane,” he said.

Groceries

Others said they’d like the government to do more to address the price of groceries. That includes Dolly Hurtado from Winnipeg.

“Food is the priority, the pressing challenge,” she said. “The [cost of] food has to go down.”

• Are you having a hard time keeping up with the cost of living? What issues would you want to see addressed in the next federal budget? Let us know in an email to ask@cbc.ca. 

Hurtado’s sentiments were echoed by Daxxon Sheppard and Dale Murphy from St. John’s.

“If they just lowered even the price of groceries by just a little. That would help a lot, honestly. It would really benefit a lot of people,” said Sheppard.

“I’d like for them to keep the cost of food down and to keep the cost of fuel down if at all possible,” Murphy said.

Economy and finances

Other Canadians said they were hoping to see the government focus on boosting economic opportunities for workers, while others wanted to see changes to the federal finances.

Jeanette Ebert of Craven, Sask., has a straightforward request for the budget.

“Get rid of the carbon tax,” she said.

Debby Sifert from Regina echoed Ebert’s demand.

“We have enough taxes. We don’t need a carbon tax,” she said.

Renato Lapagesse from Toronto said he hopes the government focuses on creating more job opportunities.

“I really expect them to do something to get more jobs and more opportunities,” he said.

Fergus Foley from St. John’s said he hopes the government cuts back on spending and instead concentrates the budget on offering more supports to Canadians.

“I’d like for the government to address wasteful spending. I mean if you look at the news these days there’s money flowing out the door, but there doesn’t seem to be anything to address the cost of living. Especially for seniors,” he said.

The government will table its budget Tuesday afternoon. CBC will carry special coverage of the budget starting at 4 p.m. ET on cbc.ca/news and CBC News Network.