2022 Federal budget summary

The 2022 federal budget highlights two main, important policy proposals. The first one is targeted at boosting economic development and innovations. This is the first federal budget after the 2021 elections. The finance minister focuses on boosting the economy more sustainably. The 2022 federal budget summary was released by Canadian deputy prime minister and minister of finance, Chrystia Freeland: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable.

The reaction of the public to the 2022 budget summary is a little disappointing. According to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) article, the 2022 budget did not address the important issue. The economy grew more quickly than anticipated during the last year, but expenditure did not grow as much.

In the 2022 federal budget, the finance minister talks about affordable houses, climate change, economic growth and innovation, employment, public health care, a fair tax system, a planned borrowing strategy, and fiscal and economic estimates. 

Affordable houses 

Finance Minister Chrystia focuses on providing affordable and cheap houses to Canadians. The main problem that arises is that there is a shortage of houses, so they limit the number of houses per person they can buy to solve this issue. The Housing Accelerator Fund would be established with $4 billion over five years, beginning in 2022–2023. It would be adaptable to the requirements and realities of cities and communities while offering assistance like an annual per-door incentive or up-front money for improvements in municipal housing planning and delivery systems that will hasten housing creation.

Budget 2022 proposes to allocate $1.5 billion over two years, beginning in 2022–2023 to prolong the Rapid Housing Initiative and ensure that additional affordable housing can be created fast. With at least 25% of the funds going to housing projects that focus on serving women, this additional financing is anticipated to result in the construction of at least 6,000 new affordable housing units. Furthermore, they highlighted that they will help Canadians buy their first home. Provide safety and rights to renters and buyers. Also, decrease the construction cost to make it more affordable. 

National housing strategy 

Create 6,000 units the 1.5 billion rapid housing initiative was renewed by the government. Moreover, loans on low-interest, forgivable loans to constructors who are building rental houses for cheap.

Co-operative housing strategy 

The Co-operative Housing Development Program will cost $500 million, and cooperative housing will be built with loans totaling $1 billion.

Home buyers 

Home buyers’ bills of rights will be developed for CMHC up to around $5 million. Moreover, they also introduced a home buyer’s savings account. Canadians can now save up to $40,000 with tax.

Foreign buyers 

In the 2022 federal budget, the finance minister put a two-year ban on foreigners from buying property in Canada. A ban on both foreign commercial enterprises and individuals. So more Canadians can buy affordable houses.

Climate change 

Fighting climate change and preserving our environment is morally good for the world as well as for our economy. The 2023 bill promised that the government would support a worldwide transition to a clean economy by creating new and creative incentives for the growth of new innovative technology, utilization, carbon capture, and storage. The council applauds the government’s pre-election pledge to provide funds for electric vehicles, green skills, and infrastructure for renewable energy sources. These programs will accelerate the essential modernization of our energy and transportation infrastructure while boosting the number of sustainable jobs in Canada.

Growth fund

The government will invest $15 billion in decarbonization, a safe and healthy environmental scheme. 

Zero emission vehicle 

The government has promised that it will increase its investment in renewable energy projects. It will also construct and extend a national network of zero-emission vehicles, which will cost $1.7 billion over the next 5 years. Encourage them to buy lower-cost zero-emission vehicles for Canadians, for instance, electric cars, vans, motorcycles, and buses, in addition to safeguarding our sea, land, and lakes. 

Economic growth and innovation 

Economic development is the secret to Canada’s long-term success. Budget 2022, investment in early learning and child care, which have the potential to boost real GDP by as much as 1.2% over the following years. It also contains other crucial investments to strengthen and diversify the Canadian economy. Canada’s growth fund will invest 10 billion dollars in Canadian businesses and employment, which will support productivity.

Moreover, to create thousands of decent jobs and take advantage of the increasing demand for minerals, the government has also invested $3.8 billion to implement Canada’s first critical mineral project.  

Employment 

In budget 2022, there is no additional pandemic benefit enhancement. With the jobs and employment crises that happen during the pandemic, the budget anticipates a decline in EI payments. Canadians may gain from the decent employment and economic development that will come with being leaders in the economy of now and tomorrow. But we need to act wisely now if we want to lead in the economy of the future.

The more investment into the sectors that are giving Canadians excellent middle-class employment. By improving our supply chains, ensuring that our firms can sell their products, and ensuring that Canadians can get the things they need from around the world, we can increase the resilience of our economy. The federal government, however, does plan to implement training and other benefits for the employees. 

Public health care 

Public health care will get 50 million dollars throughout 2022-2023. It will include a National emergency stockpile that will help with PPE and new medical supplies. 

Dental care 

A universal dental care project will get 5.3 billion dollars over the next 5 years and 1.7 billion dollars after that, as promised by the government. People who are disabled, and individuals under the age of 12 will not pay for dental care. However, this project is only available for families earning under $90,000 a year. For Canadians earning under $70,000, there will be no co-payments. 

Fair tax system 

A public, searchable register of the beneficial owners of corporations and trusts is one of the key tools that the budget for 2022 has ordered for tax evasion and international crime. CUPE has been a member of a coalition that has pushed for crucial changes in Canada’s tax transparency rules, to fight against criminals and tax evaders. 

Nonetheless, the budget did not take any action on other significant tax equity proposals, such as corporations increasing tax rates, or enacting a new wealth tax. 

Defense and security 

The Canadian defence budget, according to Budget 2022, increased expenditure by $8 billion over the next 5 years, further increasing Canada’s anticipated defence budget to 1.5% of GDP. The $8 billion also includes Ukraine assistance as asked by NATO members to keep paying.

Secondly, to improve Canada’s leadership in the armed forces, the budget allots $100 million for the next 6 years. This will cover the cost of modernizing the military justice system and promote cultural changes in the CAF. The federal budget has also promised to pay $875 million over 5 years for cyber threats and crime.

Conclusion 

There was disagreement among Canadians on the government’s 2022 budget. After the COVID-19 elections, several individuals believed that the administration had worked hard to create one of the most innovative and increasing budgets. The budget’s main themes included housing, climate change, transportation, and others. In my blog, I’ve written about affordable housing programs, rapid environmental change, health care, defense and security, and a fair tax system.

I’m sure you can see where the government will be investing money over the next five to six years after reading this piece. so that my readers would be able to comprehend the benefits of the government and the preparation they must do as a result. But what do you think, in your opinion?