The Canadian Government revealed its 2027 Budget yesterday. It contains provisions designed to help Canadians deal with inflation, sky-high energy costs, and stratospheric food prices. And it puts some much-needed cash in our pockets…
Prime Minister Mark Carney (above, l.) is an economist by trade. As expected,
he has proposed some direct help for hungry Canadians. But many of his
Budget’s measures to combat high costs rely on ‘ricochet’ effects…
The Budget outlines nearly $142 billion in new spending but does not go into intimate detail about how it will help Canadians battle the affordability monster.
Cash in hand…
“Budget 2026 does put more money directly into some Canadians’ pockets, particularly lower-income workers, caregivers and benefit recipients,” Yahoo! Finance reports. But many of the benefits and credits only kick in months from now, and provide indirect savings on various fees and charges.
What we get
Proposals to help us pay the bills include gas tax relief, action on high credit card interest rates, and increased tax credits. But the real help for the average Canadian comes in the form of increased benefits payments.
The most visible will be another one-time extra payment to the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit for more than 12 million low- and modest-income Canadians.
The deal would increase the overall benefit by 50 percent and arrive in your bank account early in the new year. A single person without children could receive up to $339 extra, while a couple with two children could get up to $679. Combined with earlier increases, total support for 2026-27 could reach about $1,290 for a single person and $2,570 for a couple with two children.
Meanwhile…
We can look forward to the Canadian Competition Bureau’s national inquiry into food prices across the entire food chain, which is slated to report by the middle of next year.
My take
Only then, I fear, can we expect any real plans to beat down high food prices and bring the big super-market chains to heal. Even in the face of searing condemnation and glaring exposées, the Big 5 supermarkets continue to report double digit profits and embark on extravagant expansion plans…
~ Maggie J.