Sunday May 20, 2025 | NATIONAL NEWS [Reporting from VICTORIA, BC]
Political analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
After at first saying there would be only a Fall Economic Statement this fall, today Prime Minister Mark Carney said there will be a full Liberal Government budget delivered this fall in the House of Commons.
Carney revealed this evolution of his parliamentary strategy during a press conference in Rome.
Previously, Carney had said that only a Fall Economic Statement would be released but it appears that public and political expectation for more decisive action on the budget front has swayed the prime minister to respond with political sensibility.
When in Rome:
Carney and several MPs are in Rome to have attended this weekend’s inaugural mass by Pope Leo XIV.
Carney’s wife Diana Fox Carney and their daughter Cleo also attended.
Budget timing:
Today Carney said during his presser in Rome that it takes time to do a budget right.
He is looking in particular at the timing of developing the defence spending portion of the budget after the NATO meeting on June 24 and 25 in the Netherlands.
Canada is also hosting the next G7 summit quite soon, on June 15 to 17 in Alberta. Policy decisions and budget directions might evolve from that as well.
Carney will also be getting further input and for the most part cooperation from Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers. It takes time to receive substantive input from 13 jurisdictions. Their next meeting is on June 2 in Saskatoon.
Priorities like housing affordability, developing natural resource strategies, and protecting jobs must all be incorporated into the next government budget.
Budget importance:
The importance for the federal government to produce a budget is based on many things:
They are a new government, elected in April 2025. They need to show their policy and intended economic direction for the country through the language of finance, i.e. the federal budget.
Carney’s rise to a near-majority election result was based on his promise of addressing the economic adaptation of this country as quickly as possible but also with a new vision of ‘one economy not 13’. That vision must be expressed through a budget.
This country’s economy is fragile and nearly ineffectual in many ways. The gap between housing prices and people’s ability to afford a place to live is far beyond reasonable (let’s call it impossible for many Canadians). For years, economists have known that economic productivity has been modest at best. Rebuilding the economy with robust intention in key sectors (e.g. automotive, forestry, critical minerals and agriculture) can now be undertaken with a ‘war time’ mentality, as Canada does face a threat to our sovereignty due to the current US president’s economic threats and pressures against Canada.
A first Carney budget will prove his economic credibility in a current context; afterall, this is the resume he was elected on. It will be a first budget for new Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne upon whom a lot of this country’s economic viability and success now depends.
People’s everyday lives and the well-being of their families and their businesses depend on the stability and improvement of Canada’s economy. Key sectors like automotive, forestry, critical minerals, agriculture and digital technology will depend on smart decisions by government to encourage investment and create more jobs that are stable and family-supporting.
Three weeks in spring session:
The House of Commons will be recalled for May 26 and King Charles III will deliver Canada’s Throne Speech on May 27.
That effectively leaves a three-week time period for parliamentary business.
The House of Commons sitting calendar for 2025 presently shows that sitting hours could be extended during June 9 to 13, and June 16 to 20. Then a summer break is currently scheduled, but that is not carved in stone.
Some governments in the past have continued sitting in the House of Commons through summer.
The current 2025 parliamentary calendar shows MPs returning to the House of Commons on September 15 and sitting through to December 12.
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