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Appropriation Act No. 1, 2025-26

An Act for granting to His Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026

Summary

  • Authorizes $149.77 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to finance federal departments, agencies, and Crown corporations for 2025–26, beyond amounts already covered by special warrants.
  • Allocates most funds via Schedule 1 for the current fiscal year and a smaller portion via Schedule 2 with spending authority extending to March 31, 2027.
  • Covers operating and capital expenditures, grants and contributions, and specific authorities (e.g., cost-recovery spending, carry-forward authorities, contingencies) across portfolios like defence, infrastructure, science, trade, health, and Indigenous services.
  • Includes administrative provisions for timing of payments, adjustments in the Public Accounts, and lapsing rules for unspent amounts.

Builder Assessment

Vote No

Overall, this is a standard supply bill that maintains government operations; it does not implement reforms central to Build Canada’s priorities. While some line items may indirectly help exports and innovation, the bill does not reduce bureaucracy, improve efficiency at lower cost, or reform taxes.

  • Strengths: funding for trade facilitation, infrastructure, science and innovation, and resource-related capacity can support growth.
  • Weaknesses: no deregulation, no explicit productivity targets, no efficiency or cost-reduction mandates, and no tax reform; largely status quo spending that may entrench bureaucracy.
  • To better align: tie major appropriations to measurable productivity/export outcomes; add regulatory streamlining conditions; set efficiency and service-level targets with clawbacks; prioritize trade- and resource-enabling infrastructure; include sunset clauses and performance-based funding; pair with a separate tax reform package.

Question Period Cards

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Principles Analysis

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Canada should aim to be the world's most prosperous country.

A routine supply bill that funds many activities; some (infrastructure, science, trade) may support growth, but there is no explicit wealth-maximization strategy.

✗

Promote economic freedom, ambition, and breaking from bureaucratic inertia (reduce red tape).

Predominantly sustains or expands existing federal programs and administration without deregulation or bureaucracy-reducing measures.

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Drive national productivity and global competitiveness.

Funds research, transport, and border operations that could aid productivity, but lacks targeted reforms or performance commitments.

✓

Grow exports of Canadian products and resources.

Provides resources to Global Affairs (trade), CCC, Invest in Canada, CBSA, and key trade infrastructure (e.g., Windsor–Detroit Bridge), which can facilitate exports.

✓

Encourage investment, innovation, and resource development.

Significant appropriations to ISED, NRC, NSERC, CSA, and Natural Resources support R&D, capital attraction, and resource project capacity.

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Deliver better public services at lower cost (government efficiency).

Includes Shared Services Canada and Treasury Board initiatives and some cost-recovery authorities, but no explicit cost-reduction targets or efficiency guarantees.

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Reform taxes to incentivize work, risk-taking, and innovation.

Contains no tax policy changes.

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Focus on large-scale prosperity, not incrementalism.

Large in dollar terms but essentially routine appropriations; no transformative, economy-wide reform agenda is embedded.

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C-6

PartyLiberal
StatusHouse of Commons bill awaiting first reading in the Senate
Last updatedJun 17, 2025
TopicsEconomics
Parliament45