Matt Golden

Budget 2026 is a budget for builders. Build Canada welcomes Budget 2026 as the first federal budget in over a decade to recognize and reward entrepreneurship as a key driver of economic growth. The government has adopted the core elements of tax reforms widely recommended by builders and entrepreneurs across Canada, while also beginning to take measures to improve competitiveness and government efficiency. This budget changes the math for founders and early employees. A Canadian who sells a company and starts the next one now has more reason to do it here. That is how a country creates a strong innovation ecosystem and gets a generation of repeat builders to stay and build here. What we welcome: 1. Measures to incentivize and reward entrepreneurship, including: > The Canada Growth Incentive, a new tax exemption on up to $15 million in capital gains earned from successful eligible investments for Canadian builders. > The enhancement of the small business rollover to allow increased deferral of taxes on capital gains when proceeds are reinvested in another Canadian small business. > The expansion of the SR&ED tax incentive program to include certain commercialisation expenses. 2. Measures to increase competition, including: > The Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Competitiveness and Red Tape Reduction. > Efforts to make it easier for consumers to switch providers by expanding data portability rights to additional sectors, including telecommunications and air transportation. > Strengthening Competition Bureau investigations. 3. Measures to improve government efficiency, including: > The establishment of Digital Transformation Canada to lead the adoption of AI across the public service. > The establishment of a Fellowship Program through Build Canada Exchange to recruit outside expertise to support priority projects. > The Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Competitiveness and Red Tape Reduction to put Canada’s long-term competitiveness at the centre of how federal regulation is developed. > Efforts to streamline the delivery of federal financing. What still needs work: > Public debt. The budget projects a deficit of $65.3 billion for FY 2026-27 and debt-to-GDP of 39.9% rising to 40.1% by 2030-31. Public debt charges are $60.2 billion for FY 2026-27 and will reach $85.5 billion by 2030-31 — more than Ottawa will spend on the Canada Health Transfer and the fastest growing budget line item. While some may argue there is fiscal room to absorb this, long term interest rates are unpredictable and our fiscal position would be more resilient with a reduced deficit. > Old Age Security reform. OAS costs are pojected at $89.4 billion this year and still leaves 400,000 seniors in poverty. Moving the recovery threshold to $100,000 of household income would save $15-16 billion a year and end seniors' poverty with $2 billion of it. The budget leaves this untouched. > More aggressive tax reform. A comprehensive review of the tax system is needed to further identify ways to simplify our tax code for individuals and businesses.