Canada's Federal Budget was announced today with a heavy focus on health care, cost of living, and a transition to a clean economy.
One of the most notable pieces of the $491 billion budget is the presentation of $13 billion for a federally funded dental plan that will assist families earning less than $90 thousand annually. The dental plan could cover nearly 9 million Canadians by the end of this year.
Other notable announcements that came from today's budget include:
- $198.3 billion in spending in the healthcare system to expand services and reduce backlogs, which has been in the works for a while.
- $59.5 billion in additional spending as compared to last year.
- Doubling the GST rebate for low-income families
- $20 billion over 6 years in tax credits for investments in green technologies
- $4 billion over 5 years for an Indigenous housing strategy
- $359 million over 5 years addressing the opioid crisis
- $158 million 3 years for a new suicide prevention hotline that launches November 30th
- and $15 billion in reduced government spending for public servants and travel.
Assisting Canadians with health care came with its costs, and projections of higher-than-expected deficits are being predicted for the next 5 years.
Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio is still one of the lowest among G-7 countries at 30.5 percent as of 2022.
For a full review of the 2023 federal budget, the Government of Canada Website has the entirety of the release.