Department of Finance Canada 2025–26 Departmental plan

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory
• Summary of changes to reporting framework since last year

¹ Indicator 1.3 measures inflation-adjusted growth averaged over the previous five years in disposable household incomes across five income groups, ranging from the bottom 20 per cent to the top 20 per cent. Household income is adjusted for household size by dividing household income by the square root of the household size.

² Based on the most recently available data, income growth rates for the 2021-22 report were as follows: Bottom 20 per cent: 5.3 per cent growth; Second 20 per cent: 2.9 per cent growth; Middle 20 per cent: 1.8 per cent growth; Fourth 20 per cent: 1.6 per cent growth; and Top 20 per cent: 0.7 per cent growth.

³ Based on the most recently available data, income growth rates for the 2022-23 report were as follows: Bottom 20 per cent: 3.5 per cent growth; Second 20 per cent: 2.6 per cent growth; Middle 20 per cent: 1.8 per cent growth; Fourth 20 per cent: 1.5 per cent growth; and Top 20 per cent: 1.3 per cent growth.

⁴ Based on the most recently available data, income growth rates for the 2023-24 report were as follows: Bottom 20 per cent: 1.4 per cent growth; Second 20 per cent: 1.7 per cent growth; Middle 20 per cent: 1.2 per cent growth; Fourth 20 per cent: 0.9 per cent growth; and Top 20 per cent: 0.9 per cent growth.

⁵ The target for this indicator is met if annual real disposable income growth is positive for all five income quintiles.

⁶ Baseline: 761 Mt CO2 equivalent in 2005.

⁷ Canada's greenhouse gas emissions target is to be achieved by 2030. However, the Department reports annually on its progress towards achieving this target.

⁸ Budgets 2022, 2023, and 2024 each include a "Gender Statement" called the Statement and Impacts Report on Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion, in which the impact of budgetary measures is presented from both a gender and diversity perspective.

⁹ The internationally comparable definition of "general government" includes the central, state, and local orders of government, as well as social security funds. For Canada, this includes the federal, provincial/territorial, and local and Indigenous government sectors, as well as the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan.

¹⁰ For the eight family types reported by the OECD, Canada's average tax wedge (as a % of labour costs) was lower than the G7 average in 2023:

¹¹ Canada's marginal effective tax rate (METR) on new business investment for the 2023 tax year was 13.0 per cent, lower than the G7 average of 23.0 per cent.

¹² Based on relevant main summary statements from regular publications from key international organizations and major ratings agencies that are published within the fiscal year.

¹³ The World Economic Forum has not published comparative country rankings on the Global Competitiveness Index since 2020. For the 2025-26 reporting year, the Department has replaced this indicator with the indicator: Financial stability ranking in financial stability indices created by world leading credit rating agencies.

¹⁴ Commencing with the 2025-26 reporting year, this indicator will replace the indicator: Ranking of Canada's financial sector in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.

¹⁵ The unit of measure is a scale consisting of five grades: 1 = less than or equal to 96 per cent of the time; 2 = 97 per cent of the time; 3 = 98 per cent of the time; 4 = 99 per cent of the time; and 5 = 100 per cent of the time. For this indicator's target to be met, a rating of 5 (100 per cent of the time) is needed for each of:

1. Percentage of payments reviewed that did not reveal errors, and
2. Percentage of payments to provincial and territorial governments that were made within the required time frames.

¹⁶ For the 2025-26 reporting year, the Department has replaced this indicator with the indicator: Percentage of payment issues arising from tax agreements with provinces, territories, and Indigenous governments that are addressed.

¹⁷ Data for this indicator is reported every three years on payment issues that arise during the previous three-year period. This indicator was last reported on in 2022-23 for the 2018-19 to 2020-21 reporting period. Results for fiscal years 2021-22 and 2022-23 will be included in the next three-year reporting period.

¹⁸ The unit of measure is a normative scale consisting of four grades: 1 = Fully addressed; 2 = Mostly addressed; 3 = Partially addressed; and 4 = Not addressed.

¹⁹ Commencing with the 2025-26 reporting year, this indicator will replace the indicator: Degree to which payment issues identified with respect to tax agreements with provinces, territories, and Indigenous governments are addressed.

²⁰ This indicator is updated periodically but not annually. The Department is considering an alternative indicator to support reporting on an annual basis.

²¹ Based on the most recent data available (2022).

²² The overall indicator is comprised of 11 Trade Facilitation Indicators (TFIs), such as information availability, fees and charges, and appeal procedures. Each TFI is assessed with a value from 0 to 2, where 2 is the best performance that can be achieved. The 11 TFIs needed to derive this departmental result indicator are updated periodically but not annually.

²³ In 2023-24, IFIs to which the Department of Finance provided resources implemented a number of measures aligned with Canada's international priorities, including: increased support to Ukraine; enhanced action to support developing countries in mitigating and adapting to climate change; and measures to more effectively deploy their existing capital.

²⁴ The score is a rating on a 1 to 5 normative performance scale, where 1 is a priority that is not reflected by the institutional financing vehicle to which resources were provided; and 5 is a priority that is reflected entirely by the institutional financing vehicle to which resources were provided. Each IFI (or institutional financing vehicle within an IFI) to which the Department of Finance has provided resources gets an average score. The final score corresponds to the average of all scores of the assessed institution/financing vehicles.

Departmental Result: Canada's public finances are sound, sustainable and inclusive

Results we plan to achieve

• Manage the preparation of the federal budget, as well as economic and fiscal updates.
• Continue to implement the Government of Canada's fiscal plans, including a new capital and day-to-day operating budget approach.
• Develop sound policy advice based on an assessment of current and future economic conditions and sound fiscal planning.
• Undertake a review of contingent liability bookings, in collaboration with the Treasury Board Secretariat.
• Support the implementation of targeted investments to improve the quality of life of Canadians by building a stronger, greener, and more resilient and sustainable society.
• Manage the government's debt program to maintain well-functioning markets for Government of Canada securities.
• Continue to efficiently manage Canada's currency system and foreign reserves.
• Continue to implement Canada's updated Green Bond Framework, including ongoing issuances of green bonds and exploring the development of a sustainable bond framework that could permit the issuance of social or transition bonds.

Departmental Result: Canada has a fair and competitive tax system

Results we plan to achieve

• Develop proposals that will improve the fairness, competitiveness, and efficiency of Canada's tax system and support the implementation of previously announced tax measures, including improvements to the integrity of the tax system.
• Work with international partners to ensure the world's largest multinational corporations pay a fair and consistent share of tax on the profits they earn in a country.
• Implement the new OECD reporting framework for crypto-asset transactions to prevent the use of digital technologies for avoiding Canadian requirements for transparent tax reporting of financial investments.

Departmental Result: The Government of Canada's borrowing requirements are met at a low and stable cost to support effective management of the federal debt on behalf of Canadians

Results we plan to achieve

• Manage the government's debt program to raise stable and low-cost funding.
• Adapt the government's debt management strategy to respond to Canada's evolving economic needs and to support Canadians and Canadian businesses in an environment of heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

Departmental Result: Canadians enjoy stronger, more sustainable, and inclusive economic growth that contributes to higher standards of living

Results we plan to achieve

• Support the government's agenda with respect to Canada-U.S. trade relations, including responding to U.S. policies that threaten Canada's interests and seeking to enhance mutually beneficial trade and economic relations with the U.S.
• Work with provinces and territories to remove internal trade barriers and strengthen Canada's economic union.
• Conduct evidence-based analysis to support policies that are effective in boosting productivity with the goal of building a green, equitable, and strong economy that produces the prosperity to benefit all Canadians.
• Continue work with government departments and other central agencies to foster long-term inclusive economic growth. This includes a focus on policies that advance access to skills training and labour force participation, including for under-represented groups. Policy support on Canada's immigration system and secure border, internal trade, and labour mobility will also be prioritized.
• Work with government departments to advance economic reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples by leveraging available financial and policy mechanisms that promote Indigenous economic participation and increase access to affordable capital.
• Support the government's commitment to see the Trans Mountain Expansion Project operated and to enable the government to maximize the value of Canada's energy resources. This includes continuing to advance opportunities for meaningful economic participation in Trans Mountain by Indigenous groups, in keeping with the spirit of reconciliation.
• Help foster a new fiscal relationship with Indigenous Peoples by negotiating tax jurisdiction arrangements that support revenue generation for interested Indigenous governments. This includes increasing options for Indigenous governments to raise tax revenue, for example, through development of a new value-added sales tax framework on fuel, alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and vaping products.
• Support the government's efforts to attract global clean economy investment to Canada by finalizing the implementation of Canada's suite of clean economy investment tax credits.
• Collaborate with government departments and other central agencies to advance policies and programs that promote economic development, secure Canada's economic interests, and make life more affordable for Canadians. This includes measures that support innovative and growing businesses as well as traditional sectors.
• Continue to develop and support the implementation of policies that enable fair dealings among businesses and a commercial marketplace that is conducive to competition, investment, and growth.
• Collaborate with federal organizations to continue to implement section 23 of the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. This will include preparing and publishing the second annual report on key measures taken by the federal public administration to manage its financial risks and opportunities related to climate change.

Departmental Result: Canada has a sound financial sector

Results we plan to achieve

• Advise on insurance-based strategies for addressing natural disaster protection gaps such as flood and earthquake risks.
• Assess housing market developments and advise on the domestic housing finance system, including addressing mortgage hardship, supporting home ownership, and incentivizing housing supply.
• Advance strategic measures with domestic and international partners to protect Canadians from rapidly evolving financial sector integrity and security risks, such as money laundering and the serious crimes it enables, terrorist financing, foreign interference, and sanctions evasion.
• Strengthen the sustainability of federally regulated private sector pension plans.
• Advise the government on the digitalization of money in collaboration with federal agencies, provincial and territorial governments, and other stakeholders.
• Implement a Consumer-Driven Banking Framework to spur innovation and competition in the financial sector, and enable small- and medium-sized businesses and consumers to securely share their financial data to access data-driven financial services that can help them better manage their finances and improve financial outcomes.
• Modernize the retail payment system, including implementing a new supervisory framework for payment service providers, to enhance the reliability and safety of payment services and support the development of faster, cheaper, and more convenient payment options for consumers and businesses.
• Support the growth of a well-functioning sustainable finance market, including helping to develop critical market infrastructure, such as sustainable investment guidelines, needed to accelerate the movement of private capital in support of Canada's climate goals.
• Advance the ongoing review of the financial institution statutes.

Departmental Result: the Government of Canada effectively supports provinces, territories, and Indigenous governments

Results we plan to achieve

• Advance issues of shared interest with the provinces and territories through ministerial meetings, including meetings of finance ministers.
• Continue working with government departments and other central agencies to implement Canada's housing response and provide advice on potential further measures to improve the availability and quality of social and affordable housing.
• Launch the 2025-2027 Triennial Review of the Canada Pension Plan in collaboration with the provinces and territories.
• Advance work on the 2029 Renewal of the Equalization and Territorial Formula Financing programs in collaboration with the provinces and territories.
• Work with government departments and other central agencies to advance health and social priorities, including in public safety and justice, culture, immigration, diversity, and inclusion.
• Work with government departments and other central agencies to support reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, including the implementation of the United Nations Declaration Act Action Plan, the establishment of a new fiscal relationship with Indigenous Peoples, the delivery of government priorities in areas such as Indigenous social and economic policy, and the application of a distinctions-based lens in funding approaches.

Departmental Result: Canada maintains its leadership and engagement globally and deepens its trading relationships

Results we plan to achieve

• Contribute to the effective management of Canada-U.S. trade and economic relations.
• Continue to monitor and analyze international economic and policy developments, including in the context of Russia's war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East, with a view to ensuring strong, sustainable, inclusive, and balanced global economic growth.
• Continue to work with G7 and the Group of Twenty (G20) members to address short- and long-run global economic challenges.
• Coordinate with allies, including G7 members, on support for Ukraine against the illegal invasion by Russia.
• Work with international counterparts to ensure multilateral development banks use resources efficiently by developing innovative instruments and mobilizing private capital, and to implement key reforms that promote economic stability and create a stronger, greener, and more inclusive economy.
• Continue to exercise leadership at the International Monetary Fund to support its efforts to meet the needs of member countries.
• Continue efforts to improve debt sustainability and transparency across the international system.
• Lead Canada's engagement in negotiations on multilateral export credit disciplines at the OECD.
• Diversify Canada's trading relationships through the exploration, negotiation, and implementation of free trade agreements.
• Support Canadian leadership on reform to the World Trade Organization and modernizing the multilateral trading system.
• Support the government's response to major trading partners' policies that threaten Canada's interests, including measures to address non-market excess capacity and responses to reciprocate protectionist policies.
• Engage with international partners to promote development and effective trade policy, including addressing ongoing trade irritants.
• Support Canada's 2025 G7 Presidency and leadership of the G7 Finance Track, including playing a key policy and advisory role to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue.
• Continue to monitor and advise on issues related to the import of goods to preserve Canada's manufacturing competitiveness and protect domestic industries against unfair trade practices.

Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) is an analytical approach that examines how gender and other identity factors—such as age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and geography—impact access to programs and services. Initially designed to address the disparities faced by women and girls, GBA Plus has evolved to consider a broader range of identity factors. This intersectional lens recognizes that different factors sometimes overlap, often compounding and intensifying existing inequalities.

The Department plays a key role in embedding an intersectional perspective into the federal budget and more broadly into public policy development through frameworks such as GBA Plus and the Quality of Life indicators. Accordingly, in 2025-26, the Department will continue to require that all budgetary and off-cycle proposals include a GBA Plus departmental summary. This approach ensures that GBA Plus considerations are not only integrated but also prioritized early in the development and design of budget proposals, fostering more inclusive outcomes.

In 2025-26, the Department will continue to lead Canada's gender budgeting efforts. Under the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act, it will continue to assess and report on the gender and diversity impacts of all new budget measures. The budget will also continue to provide impact summaries of proposed new measures on diverse demographic groups, aligned with the Gender Results Framework, and include key statistics on gender equality and diversity. The Act also requires the publication of an annual study on the impacts of tax expenditures across identity factors. This requirement will be met through the 2025 Report on Federal Tax Expenditures, offering further analysis of the benefits federal tax expenditures provide to different groups of Canadians.

More detailed information on the Department's GBA Plus initiatives, including disaggregated data collection, is available in the GBA Plus Supplementary Information Table.

The Department's sustainable development strategy aligns with its commitment to fostering a strong economy and sound public finances, ensuring that all Canadians can benefit today and in the future.

The Department will remain committed to ensuring that Canada's economy grows in a sustainable and inclusive manner, providing opportunities for all Canadians to contribute to and benefit from this growth. The Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) presents the Government of Canada's sustainable development goals and targets, as required by the Federal Sustainable Development Act, and is framed using the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. In keeping with the purpose of the Act, to make decision-making related to sustainable development more transparent and accountable to Parliament, the Department supports the goals laid out in the FSDS through the activities described in its Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy 2023-2027. For example, the Department is a key contributor to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Encourage Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth in Canada) through its leadership in policy development on tax incentives that promote economic activity. These include the Reduced Tax Rates for Zero-Emission Technology Manufacturers and the Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit, both of which support Canada's clean technology products sector and contribute to sustainable economic growth.

In addition to Goal 8, the Department is also a key contributor to six other Sustainable Development Goals: Reduce Poverty in Canada in all its Forms; Increase Canadians' Access to Clean Energy; Foster Innovation and Green Infrastructure in Canada; Advance Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and Take Action to Reduce Inequality; Reduce Waste and Transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles; and, Take Action on Climate Change and its Impacts.

More information on the Department's contributions to Canada's Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in the Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy 2023-2027.

• Description
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

• Spending
• Funding
• Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
• Human resources

The cumulative net increase of $27.2 billion in spending from 2022-23 to 2024-25 mainly relates to:

• an increase in interest on unmatured debt due to higher borrowing requirements and revisions to interest rates ($16.7 billion);
• legislated increases for the Canada Health Transfer payment program ($6.9 billion) and Fiscal Arrangements with Provinces and Territories transfer payment program ($4.2 billion); and
• offset by a decrease in payments to the International Development Association ($0.4 billion).

The cumulative increase of $15 billion in planned spending from 2025-26 to 2027-28 mainly relates to the following statutory items:

• legislated and forecasted increases for the Canada Health Transfer payment program ($5.6 billion) and Fiscal Arrangements with Provinces and Territories transfer payment program ($2.9 billion); and
• an increase in interest on unmatured debt due to higher borrowing requirements and revisions to interest rates ($6.8 billion)

The net increase in actual and planned spending from 2022-23 to 2027-28 mainly relates to statutory payments to provinces and territories, interest on unmatured debt due to higher borrowing requirements and revisions to interest rates.

Planned net cost of operations before government funding and transfers shows an increase of $5.4 billion in 2025-26, primarily due to legislated and forecasted increases in major transfer payments to provinces and territories ($4.5 billion) and international institutions ($0.1 billion), and a planned increase in interest expense ($0.8 billion).

The increased use of full-time equivalents from 2022-23 to 2024-25 is primarily due to funding received to support the work on key government priorities in areas such as tax policy, financial sector policy, and economic development.

The decreased use of full-time equivalents from 2025-26 to 2027-28 is primarily due to time-limited funding sunsetting in areas such as tax policy, financial sector policy, and economic development.

Appropriate minister(s):

The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, P.C., M.P.

Institutional head:

Chris Forbes, Deputy Minister

Ministerial portfolio:

Minister of Finance and National Revenue

Enabling instrument(s):

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/corporate/laws-regulations/list-acts-regulations.html

Year of incorporation / commencement:

1867

Mailing address:

Department of Finance Canada
15th Floor
90 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5

Telephone:

613-369-3710

TTY:

613-995-1455

Fax:

613-369-4065

Email:

publishing-publication@fin.gc.ca

Website(s):

Canada.ca

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, departments or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments' immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department's core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department's actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full-time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person's collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

Is an analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs, and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

Using GBA Plus involves taking a gender- and diversity-sensitive approach to our work. Considering all intersecting identity factors as part of GBA Plus, not only sex and gender, is a Government of Canada commitment.

government priorities (priorités gouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2025-26 Departmental Plan, government priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government's agenda in the most recent Speech from the Throne.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where two or more federal departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

Indigenous business (entreprise autochtones)

For the purpose of the Directive on the Management of Procurement Appendix E: Mandatory Procedures for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses and the Government of Canada's commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses, a department that meets the definition and requirements as defined by the Indigenous Business Directory. 

non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Non-budgetary authorities that comprise assets and liabilities transactions for loans, investments and advances, or specified purpose accounts, that have been established under specific statutes or under non-statutory authorities in the Estimates and elsewhere. Non-budgetary transactions are those expenditures and receipts related to the government's financial claims on, and obligations to, outside parties. These consist of transactions in loans, investments and advances; in cash and accounts receivable; in public money received or collected for specified purposes; and in all other assets and liabilities. Other assets and liabilities, not specifically defined in G to P authority codes are to be recorded to an R authority code, which is the residual authority code for all other assets and liabilities.

performance (rendement)

What a department did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the department intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an department, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how a department intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all the department's programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department's core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to a department, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single department, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the department's influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that a department, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.