Topic
Cost of Living|Canada
Finance tabled the budget on 5 November. Annex 1 projects a $62.3 billion deficit in 2026-27 and $62.5 billion in 2027-28, with the deficit-to-GDP ratio then declining. Day-to-day operating balance turns positive in 2027-28 under the capital-budgeting framework. Public debt charges rise to $85.5 billion by 2030-31.
Debt & Fiscal|Canada
Auditor General Karen Hogan’s 29 October audit finds the Canadian Dental Care Plan has made care cheaper for its 6.9 million members. Those who used it paid $264 out of pocket on average, against $536 for households generally. But payments ran about $1.1 billion over budget in the first two years, covered by moving money between years, and actuarial forecasts show the shortfall continuing to 2031–32. For six months of 2025–26, Health Canada did not check whether claims decisions were accurate.
Cost of Living|United States
A proposed rule implementing the Working Families Tax Cut law would stop Exchanges from paying advance premium tax credits while key data mismatches are unresolved, end automatic subsidy re-enrollment (people must confirm their details each year from 1 August) and let consumers ‘pend’ a plan until approved. CMS estimates subsidy spending falls about $7.6 billion a year from plan year 2028. Comments close 27 November.
Debt & Fiscal|Canada
The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s October outlook (20 October) projects a $63.3 billion deficit this year, peaking at $70.2 billion in 2027-28 and still $67.8 billion in 2030-31. New measures since June, led by the $36 billion Productivity Mega Deduction, cost $52.6 billion over five years and outweigh the extra revenue from higher prices. Debt charges climb from $59.3 billion to $83.0 billion. The same day, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he will table Budget 2026 on 5 November.
Debt & Fiscal|World
The Office for National Statistics (21 October) puts public sector net debt at £3,005.0 billion at the end of September, the first time above £3 trillion, or 94.0% of GDP. As a share of the economy, debt is 0.7 points lower than a year ago. September borrowing was £24.5 billion, £1.9 billion above the OBR forecast, with £10.9 billion in central government debt interest, the highest September since records began in 1997. The Budget is on 28 October.
Cost of Living|Canada
A Parliamentary Budget Officer cost estimate for Bill C-38, published 8 October 2026, puts the cost of suspending federal fuel excise taxes from 20 April 2026 to 31 January 2027, then halving them to 31 March, at $4.943 billion in 2026-27. Average savings are $276 per family, from $132 in the lowest income quintile to $468 in the highest. The House has agreed to sit until midnight on 19 October to deal with C-38.
Debt & Fiscal|European Union
The European Court of Auditors’ annual reports on the 2025 budget, published 8 October 2026, sign off the accounts but give an adverse opinion on spending, with an estimated error rate of 3.8% (2024: 3.6%). Outstanding EU borrowing hit €738.9 billion at end-2025 and could reach €1 trillion by 2027. The Commission has not published an overall plan to repay NextGenerationEU by 2058.
Debt & Fiscal|Canada
A Parliamentary Budget Officer primer published 6 October 2026 works through what Canada’s NATO pledge costs. On a gradual path, core defence spending rises from $95.7 billion in 2030-31 to $163.6 billion in 2035-36. That is $70.1 billion more than staying at 2% of GDP. On an accrual basis it would add $63.7 billion to the deficit in 2035-36 and 5.7 points of GDP to federal debt. The PBO says the paths are illustrative, not projections, and that the extra cost is not yet in budget forecasts.
Accountability|Canada
Introduced 6 October 2026, the Strengthening Canada’s Defence Sector Act turns the Defence Investment Agency into the Canadian Corporation for Defence Investment. It could lend, guarantee and buy shares, and draw up to $1 billion at a time from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. A rewritten Defence Production Act requires competition for contracts but lets the minister waive it on 13 listed grounds. The bill does not add the new corporation to the Access to Information Act’s list of covered institutions.
Debt & Fiscal|Canada
The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s 1 October 2026 report, requested by the Senate finance committee, estimates the baseline Toronto–Québec City route (without the Kingston option) would cost $75 billion to $113 billion to build, in 2024 dollars. The government’s own range is $60–90 billion. Tunnels, the Canadian Shield, and later start dates drive the number. Ridership and operating costs come in a second report.
Data Desk|Canada
The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s 24 September 2026 note on the Operating Budget Fiscal Anchor projects balance in 2029–30, one year after Budget 2025’s 2028–29 target and two years after the prime minister’s 15 September claim of a 2027–28 path. Granular Finance attributions of “operating” vs “capital” look contradictory in places.
Data Desk|Canada
The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s 4 June 2026 Economic and Fiscal Outlook projects the deficit rising from $36.3 billion (2024–25) to $72.0 billion (2025–26), with debt-service reaching 13.1% of revenues and under a 1% chance the deficit/GDP ratio declines every year through 2030–31.
Accountability|Canada
A sourced accountability ledger — deficit math, Bill C-5 fast-tracks, housing delivery gaps, Brookfield ethics optics, and immigration integrity — measured against what supporters say he fixed.
