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Appropriation Act No. 2, 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 the federal government to spend up to $8.58 billion in 2025–26 for needs not covered in the Main Estimates, with retroactive effect to April 1, 2025.
  • The vast majority goes to National Defence (~$8.21B for operating, capital, and grants/contributions), with $370M for the Communications Security Establishment.
  • Provides authorities such as re-spending certain revenues, long-term commitment authority for Defence procurement, and ability to make non-cash accounting adjustments before Public Accounts are tabled.
  • Funds are restricted to the purposes specified in the Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025–26, and are standard supply measures to sustain ongoing federal operations.

Builder Assessment

Neutral

Overall, this is a standard appropriations bill that increases spending for defence and cybersecurity without delivering structural reforms tied to productivity, exports, investment, or tax incentives. It conflicts with the government efficiency tenet and is otherwise neutral.

  • Conflicts with Tenet 6 by increasing outlays without offsetting savings or service-delivery improvements.
  • Neutral on all other tenets; any growth or competitiveness effects are indirect and unspecified.
  • To better align: tie appropriations to performance metrics (productivity, cyber-resilience), include procurement modernization and cost-saving targets, earmark funds for dual-use R&D with commercialization milestones, add domestic supply-chain and export outcomes, and pair with offsetting savings or tax reforms that spur investment.

Question Period Cards

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Principles Analysis

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

This is a routine supply bill; while security spending can indirectly support growth, the bill contains no explicit pro-growth measures.

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

It largely maintains status-quo funding for federal operations without deregulation or structural reforms.

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Drive national productivity and global competitiveness.

Cyber and defence outlays might reduce economic risk and protect productivity, but there are no targeted competitiveness initiatives.

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Grow exports of Canadian products and resources.

No measures directly tied to export growth or trade facilitation are included.

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Encourage investment, innovation, and resource development.

Defence capital and grants could yield innovation spillovers, but the bill does not specify R&D or investment programs.

✗

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

It authorizes $8.58B in additional spending without offsetting savings or efficiency reforms, increasing overall government outlays.

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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.

This is an administrative appropriation, not a strategic prosperity initiative.

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C-7

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