Budget 2025 - What does it mean for North Island Powell River?

Budget 2025 outlines a strategy to benefit all Canadians by building a more resilient economy while continuing to provide the social services available to Canadians. Budget 2025 also includes items that could benefit North Island Powell River residents directly. 

Nationally, Budget 2025 will:

1. Spend less by reducing the civil service by 40,000 people by 2028/29. People who retire will not be replaced and early retirement will be encouraged. This will save 56B over the next five years. 

2. Invest more than 140B over 5 years on new infrastructure, trade corridors, and defense spending.This amount is reduced to almost 90B when the savings noted above are taken into consideration.

3. The investments are designed to generate 1 trillion in private investment.

4. Social programs such as Canada child benefit, daycare, dental, old age security, and national school food program will continue.

Locally,  Budget 2025 provides direct benefits to North Island Powell River including: 

Support for forestry and seafood businesses:

• Up to $700 million in loans over two years on a cash basis to help forestry companies maintain and restructure to overcome the pressures exerted from US tariffs.

• $500 million over three years to build a more resilient forestry industry by developing new products and finding new markets

• $75 million over five years to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to promote fish and seafood products to new markets.

Support for workers:

• Provide EI benefits to eligible employees who need to work less because their company is being negatively impacted by tariffs and other economic conditions.

• Temporarily enhance EI support for workers whose jobs have been impacted by the economic uncertainty caused by foreign tariffs. 

Support for seniors:

• Continuation of the  New Horizons for Seniors Program that offers up to $25,000 to support projects in local communities—such as new fitness equipment for seniors’ centres.

Community support:

• $27.8 billion over 10 years, starting in 2026-27, and $3.0 billion per year ongoing to support local infrastructure projects.

• $5 billion over three years for a Health Infrastructure Fund. Funding is provided to provinces to help ensure hospitals, emergency rooms, urgent care centres, etc are able to meet Canadians needs. 

• $21 million over three years to support local festivals, community anniversaries, and community-initiated capital projects;

• Continuation of the Small Craft Harbours Program to ensure our communities can provide safe harbour to fishermen, community residents, and tourists.

Support for low income individuals:

• Automatic tax filing for low  income Canadians to ensure they are receiving any benefits that are available to them such as GST rebates and Canada Child Benefit.

Media:

• $38.4 million over three years to help small and community news outlets 

• Increase spending to the CBC, the impact of which we are already seeing with a reporter covering the North Island.

Extreme Weather and Public Safety:

• Modernizing the Meteorological Society of Canada to ensure they can provide us with accurate local weather forecasting, climate projections, and extreme weather alerts.

• $55.4 million over four years  and $13.4 million ongoing to Public Safety Canada to support a new National Public Alerting System so Canadians will learn of extreme weather and security threats quickly, enabling them to take action to protect themselves and communities. 

• Provide $257.6 million over four years to Natural Resources Canada to lease four aircraft to bolster provincial and territorial aerial firefighting capacity.

(note: some of these have been announced since Mark Carney became the Prime Minister in March 2025.)