Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and the Honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Small Business, highlighted Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation, the government’s plan to drive economic growth in a way that is shared by all. It is a plan to build a Canada that works better for every generation, where younger generations can get ahead, where their hard work pays off, and where they can buy or rent their own home—where everyone has a fair chance at a good middle class life.

“With this new investment in Futurpreneur Canada, we are empowering Canada’s brightest minds—our young entrepreneurs and risktakers—to innovate and pursue their ideas for new ventures and businesses. This year’s budget is about growing the economy in a way that’s shared by all—particularly for younger generations. It is a plan that will attract and increase investment, enhance productivity, and encourage the kind of game-changing innovation that will create good-paying and meaningful jobs and keep Canada at the economic forefront.”

- The Honourable Chrystia Freeland,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

“Our Budget 2024 is levelling the playing field for everyone, including Canada’s young entrepreneurs. Through our continued investments in Futurpreneur, we are ensuring that starting your own business is a viable career path for thousands more young Canadians who want to become entrepreneurs. Today’s announcement is great news for innovation and productivity in Canada, because when we support young entrepreneurs we are not only supporting the businesses they will create, but the jobs and the productivity they will bring to our economy.”

- The Honourable Rechie Valdez,
Minister of Small Business

• Budget 2024 invests to make it easier for new businesses to start-up and for existing businesses to grow, with new proposed measures, including:

  • A Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption Increase from the current amount of $1,016,836 in capital gains tax-free on the sale of small business shares and farming and fishing property to $1.25 million, effective June 25, 2024. The Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption will continue to be indexed to inflation thereafter. In 2025, Canadians with eligible capital gains of below $2.25 million will be better off under these changes.
  • A new Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive to reduce the inclusion rate to 33.3 per cent on a lifetime maximum of $2 million in eligible capital gains. This additional $2 million incentive will be available to founding investors in certain sectors who own at least 10 per cent of shares in their business, and where the company has been their principal employment for at least five years. When this incentive is fully rolled out, entrepreneurs will have a combined total and partial exemption of at least $3.25 million when selling all or part of a business—encouraging innovators to keep innovating in Canada. The new Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive will mean entrepreneurs will be better off when earning capital gains of up to $6.25 million, such as from selling their business.
  • Investing in Canadian Start-ups through the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative with $200 million over two years, starting in 2026-27, on a cash basis, to increase access to venture capital for equity-deserving entrepreneurs, and to invest in underserved communities and outside key metropolitan hubs.
  • Supporting Indigenous-owned Businesses by providing $350 million over five years to Indigenous Financial Institutions, including $30 million for Métis Capital Corporations.
  • Introducing an Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance for innovation-enabling and productivity-enhancing assets, such as computers and data network infrastructure. By providing businesses with enhanced write-offs for their investments, they will be able to increase their cashflow, create more jobs, and make their businesses more productive and innovative.
  • The New Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses to urgently return proceeds from the price on pollution from 2019-20 through 2023-24 to an estimated 600,000 businesses in provinces where the federal backstop applies, with 499 or fewer employees through a new refundable tax credit. This would deliver over $2.5 billion directly to these small- and medium-sized businesses.
  • Strengthening Canada's AI Advantage with a monumental investment in targeted AI support of over $2.4 billion, including to launch a new AI Compute Access Fund and Canadian Sovereign Compute Strategy, and to support AI adoption. This will help Canadian researchers, start-ups, and scale-up businesses access the computational power and the digital tools they need to compete, and help catalyze the development of Canadian-owned and located AI infrastructure.
  • Enhancing Research Support and Federal Research Grants, with $3.5 billion in new strategic research infrastructure and federal research support, including investments in modern, high-quality research facilities and infrastructure, which are essential for breakthroughs in Canadian research and science. This also includes more than $2.6 billion for core research grants and to foster homegrown, top-tier research talent by streamlining and enhancing scholarships and fellowships through Canada's research granting councils. Boosting research support will ensure our industries and businesses can hire the talent they need to increase productivity and remain on the cutting edge.
  • Modernizing the Scientific Research & Experimental Development tax incentives and further capitalizing the program with $600 million over four years, and $150 million per year ongoing, to boost research and innovation.
  • Advancing National Regulatory Alignment to break down the barriers to internal trade that are preventing Canada from reaching its full economic potential, and holding back businesses from trading across provincial and territorial borders. Aligning regulations could increase Canada's GDP per capita by as much as 4 per cent, according to the IMF—and the federal government is taking action to help get this done.

Related products

• Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation
• Budget 2024: Address by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
• Backgrounder: Fairness for Younger Generations
• Backgrounder: Economic Growth and Productivity
• Backgrounder: Growing Small Businesses
• Backgrounder: The New Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive

Media may contact:

Katherine Cuplinskas
Press Secretary and Senior Communications Advisor
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Katherine.Cuplinskas@fin.gc.ca

Media Relations
Department of Finance Canada
mediare@fin.gc.ca
613-369-4000

General enquiries

Phone: 1-833-712-2292
TTY: 613-369-3230
E-mail: financepublic-financepublique@fin.gc.ca

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