Budget 2026 offers help, but won’t reach everyone who needs it |
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Many of the new measures in the federal budget focus on affordability. This makes sense given that it remains a top priority for most Canadians. The government focuses its support at the lower end of the income spectrum, aiming to lift more Canadians out of poverty. It also makes a bold commitment to end homelessness within a decade.
What isn’t yet clear is whether it can deliver meaningful results for those most in need.
Income supports tackle poverty and food insecurity
The signature income-support measure in Budget 26 is another top-up to the Groceries and Essentials Benefit (formerly the GST/HST Credit). With more than $4 billion in spending, it promises to lift 120,000 people out of poverty in 2027. But it is a temporary top-up.
The increased Groceries and Essentials Benefit should be made permanent.
This is something we recommended at the end of 2023 as part of a collaboration between the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the Affordability Action Council and researcher Gillian Petit from the University of Calgary. We called for larger increases to meaningfully reduce poverty and food insecurity. We also suggested the benefit be paid monthly rather than quarterly to help manage recurring expenses.
Grocery prices and rent have increased by more than 30 per cent since 2019, and prices are likely to stay well above 2019 levels for some time. Inflation has slowed, but growth rates for the lowest incomes have not kept pace.
The top-up will only provide an additional $28 per month for a single adult, and about $57 per month for a family of four (though payments are made quarterly). That means, in total, single adults will get around $108 per month and families around $214 in the 2026-27 fiscal year (April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027). That will help, but on its own will not be enough to address the challenge of food insecurity.
Slaying myths about income support Tariffs and a possible carbon-rebate rollback show the need for targeted income support Breaking down government silos to address the crises of homelessness and housing Patients benefit from providing health care alongside housing and other social supports
Slaying myths about income support
Tariffs and a possible carbon-rebate rollback........