Investing in the Middle Class BUDGET 2019 Tabled in the House of Commons by the Honourable William Francis Morneau, P.C., M.P. Minister of Finance March 19, 2019 ©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada (2019) All rights reserved All requests for permission to reproduce this document or any part thereof shall be addressed to the Department of Finance Canada. For more information, please contact Service Canada at 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232) TTY: 1-800-926-9105 Cat No.: F1-23/3E-PDF ISSN: 1719-7740 This document is available on the Internet at www.fin.gc.ca Cette publication est aussi disponible en français. Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................ 9 Facing an Uncertain Future ........................................................................................ 10 Results for the Middle Class ........................................................................................ 11 A Long-Term Plan for Canadians ............................................................................... 13 Investing in the Middle Class ...................................................................................... 13 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 14 Overview .......................................................................................................... 15 Canadian Economic Context .................................................................................... 15 Budget 2019 Investments ............................................................................................ 17 Maintaining Canada’s Low-Debt Advantage .......................................................... 19 Chapter 1 – Investing in the Middle Class .................................................... 21 Part 1: An Affordable Place to Call Home ................................................................. 22 Improving Affordability Today: Support for First-Time Home Buyers ....................... 22 Introducing the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive .................................................... 23 How the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive Would Work ............................... 23 Modernizing the Home Buyers’ Plan ...................................................................... 25 Working Together: Increasing Housing Supply Through Partnerships and Targeted Investments .................................................................... 27 Expanding the Rental Construction Financing Initiative .................................... 27 Encouraging Innovation With the Housing Supply Challenge .......................... 28 Launching an Expert Panel on the Future of Housing Supply and Affordability ................................................................................................................ 29 Delivering on Canada’s First National Housing Strategy.................................... 29 Increasing Fairness: Strengthening Rules and Compliance in Canada’s Housing Market ...................................................................................... 31 Taking Action to Enhance Tax Compliance in the Real Estate Sector ............ 31 Deterring Financial Crime in Real Estate .................................................................. 32 Monitoring Purchases of Canadian Real Estate .................................................. 32 Part 2: A New Approach to Helping Middle Class Canadians Find and Keep Good Jobs ...................................................................... 33 Horizontal Skills Review .............................................................................................. 35 Introducing the Canada Training Benefit ............................................................. 37 How the Canada Training Benefit Will Work ................................................. 38 How the Canada Training Benefit Will Help Workers and Employers ....... 40 Using the Canada Training Benefit ................................................................. 41 Preparing Young Canadians for Good Jobs ........................................................ 43 Affordable and Accessible Education ............................................................. 43 Helping With the High Cost of Post-Secondary Education ........................ 43 Making Canada Student Loans More Affordable ....................................... 44 1 Making Canada Student Loans More Accessible ....................................... 45 Enhancing Supports for Apprenticeship ........................................................ 46 Paid Parental Leave for Student Researchers .............................................. 47 Supporting Graduate Students Through Research Scholarships ............... 48 Supporting Indigenous Post-Secondary Education ..................................... 48 Skills for Canada and the World ................................................................................. 50 Expanding the Canada Service Corps ................................................................. 50 Giving Young Canadians Digital Skills ............................................................ 51 Modernizing the Youth Employment Strategy .............................................. 52 Canada’s New International Education Strategy ....................................... 52 On-the-Job Learning and Work Experience......................................................... 53 Expanding the Student Work Placement Program ..................................... 54 Part 3: Moving Forward on Implementing National Pharmacare ........................... 57 Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare ................ 58 Introducing the Canadian Drug Agency ............................................................. 60 Making High-Cost Drugs for Rare Diseases More Accessible ............................ 61 Part 4: A Secure Retirement ........................................................................................ 62 A Better Quality of Life for Canada’s Seniors ....................................................... 63 Improving the Economic Security of Low-Income Seniors ......................... 63 Making Sure Everyone Who Is Eligible Receives Canada Pension Plan Benefits ........................................................................ 66 Protecting Canadians’ Pensions ..................................................................... 66 Empowering Seniors in Their Communities .................................................... 67 The Canada Pension Plan: Retirement Security for Today and Tomorrow ..... 68 Further Investments Benefitting the Quality of Life of Seniors ............................ 70 Chapter 2 – Building a Better Canada.......................................................... 73 Part 1: Building Strong Communities .......................................................................... 74 The Investing in Canada Plan: An Update ........................................................... 74 Projects Approved and Underway ................................................................. 75 Creating Jobs Through the Investing in Canada Plan ................................ 79 New Infrastructure Funding for Local Communities Through a Municipal Top-Up ................................................................................... 80 Part 2: Affordable Electricity Bills and a Clean Economy ....................................... 81 Investing in the Future of Transportation ............................................................... 81 Making Zero-Emission Vehicles More Affordable ................................................ 81 Supporting Business Investment in Zero-Emission Vehicles ................................ 82 Reducing Energy Costs Through Greater Energy Efficiency.............................. 84 More Connectivity = More Affordable Electricity ................................................ 85 Fighting Climate Change With a Price on Pollution ............................................ 86 A Just Transition for Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities .......... 88 Improving Canadian Energy Information ............................................................. 90 Fulfilling Canada’s G20 Commitment ................................................................... 90 2 Part 3: Connecting Canadians ................................................................................... 92 Access to High-Speed Internet for All Canadians ............................................... 92 Bringing High-Speed Internet to Rural, Remote and Northern Communities ............................................................................. 92 How We Will Achieve a Fully Connected Canada ..................................... 95 Part 4: Building a Better Future for Canada’s North .................................................. 98 Strong Arctic and Northern Communities ............................................................. 98 Investing in Regional Priorities................................................................................ 104 Protecting Water and Soil in the Prairies ...................................................... 104 Investing in Eastern Canada Ferry Services ................................................ 104 Improving Crossings in Canada’s Capital Region ..................................... 105 Part 5: Building a Nation