Although Calgary received only one mention in the more than 400-page document, there is cautious optimism about the premier at City Hall and among stakeholders. Mark Carney first federal budget.
Carney's Federal Liberal Government unveils proposals your first budget on Tuesdaywhich projects a deficit of about $78.3 billion this year with $141.4 billion in new spending, partially offset by more than $51 billion in savings and cuts over the next five years.
The only mention of Calgary in the document is in a chart showing unemployment rates in the country's largest cities.
However, at a news conference late Tuesday, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said he believes the spending plan makes “funding municipalities a priority.”
“We approach today's budget with cautious optimism,” Farkas said. “Today's promises are encouraging, but Calgarians will judge this budget by actions on the ground, not words on paper.”
Farkas pointed to a new initiative called the Building Strong Communities Fund, which proposes spending $51 billion over the next 10 years through provincial and municipal governments to build “housing” infrastructure such as roads and water projects, as well as health-related infrastructure.
The mayor also mentioned housing funding in the recently launched Build Canada Homes plan, as well as “broad investments” in policing.
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“I will work with our provincial and federal partners to ensure Calgary uses this budget to benefit our city,” Farkas said.
Housing stocks have also been a priority for Vibrant Communities Calgary, a non-profit anti-poverty organization in the city.
Policy director Michelle James said she was encouraged that the budget retained “important social programs” such as the Canada Disability Benefit, the Canada Workers' Benefit and the Canada Children's Benefit.
A commitment to promoting automatic tax filing is also welcome, as it will allow more low-income Calgarians to access these benefits, James said.
“We've heard a lot of rumors about cost cuts, and of course we've seen them, but we're seeing these commitments to really support vulnerable Calgarians,” James said.
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce said it is also encouraged by the “economic focus and regulatory changes” in the budget, including the trade diversification strategy and trade corridor fund, as well as the Productivity Super Deduction to reduce Canada's marginal effective tax rate.
Ruhi Ismail-Teja, the chamber's vice-president of policy and external affairs, also pointed to potential changes to regulation of Alberta's energy sector.
“We have seen significant regulatory reforms, including the removal of emissions caps and that the greenwashing provisions that have been challenging for much of Alberta's energy sector in particular will be changed through legislative amendments,” she told Global News. “It's certainly promising.”
But Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner told reporters he was still seeking clarity on some aspects of the budget, including the repeal of the emissions cap.
“They cite things like there's no need to cap emissions, but we need to understand how they'll actually achieve that,” Horner said. “The devil is in the details.”
Local MPs are also reacting to the proposed federal budget, with Calgary's lone Liberal MP Corey Hogan taking to social media to call the plan “an economist's budget, but in the best sense of the phrase.”
“This is a budget that increases tax benefits, this is a budget that makes us more economically competitive,” a Calgary Confederation spokesman said in a video.
But Calgary-Midnapore Conservative MP Stephanie Cusey has concerns about the proposed budget, including the growing deficit and lack of “more austerity.”
Cusi told Global News she doesn't think her party will be able to support the proposed budget with “huge deficits and spending” and added that she hopes the government will listen to proposals for amendments “in the hope that we can move towards supporting it.”
“I'm very concerned about how this budget moves forward,” she said. “I don't think we can support this budget, but I also want to be clear: I don't think Canadians want an election right now.”
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