Federal Budget 2024: Ottawa targets capital gains for billions in new revenue
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland tables the federal budget in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The Liberal government has already unveiled significant planks of the budget, including billions of dollars to build more homes, expand child care and beef up the military. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released a federal budget that raises more than $20-billion in new revenue over five years, primarily through changes to Canada’s capital-gains rules, in an effort to have wealthy Canadians and corporations help offset the cost of billions in new spending.
As previously signalled by the government, housing, defence and technology research all receive significant funding in the budget, which lays out about $53-billion in new spending over five years.
In a break from past practice, Ms. Freeland and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced most of the budget’s key planks earlier this month in a series of cross-country news conferences. The unanswered question heading into budget day was how the government planned to pay for it all.
