Businesses of all sizes can now immediately deduct the full cost of most new investments, permanently. The deduction covers more than 65% of business investment and is expected to cost Ottawa $36 billion over five years.

Compare your sector with the U.S.

Marginal effective tax rate (METR) on new business investment. A negative rate means the tax system effectively subsidizes the marginal investment. Source: Budget 2026, Chart 1.1.

What could qualify? Pick an industry

Examples from the budget are illustrative. Once legislation is tabled, the Canada Revenue Agency will decide whether specific assets qualify. Exclusions include certain long-lived buildings, intangibles, some passenger vehicles and regulated natural gas distribution pipelines.

Since March 2025, Ottawa has announced almost $44 billion for workers and businesses hit by U.S. tariffs. Here is where it is going.

A $3.5-billion package announced in August added more flexible EI rules, extended benefits for eligible workers and a new program to help employers keep and retrain staff through difficult periods. The budget adds $170 million in 2027-28 for training and employment services delivered with the provinces and territories.

What it means for EI premiums

The new worker measures add $3.9 billion in EI costs over five years, which the budget says puts "upward pressure on the EI premium rate." Those costs are recovered through future premiums. The EI operating account is expected to post annual surpluses starting in 2028 and break even overall in 2034.

Canada will need more than 1.4 million people in the skilled trades by 2033 to replace retirees and meet demand, according to the budget. The goal is up to 100,000 new Red Seal tradespeople by 2031. Here is the money along the way.

The hiring incentive, training grant and a youth placement program for 100,000 young people over five years are set to launch early next year.

Try it: what an apprentice could collect

Where the jobs are: projected openings, 2026 to 2035

Thousands of openings in select occupations involved in designing, building, supplying and operating major projects. Source: Budget 2026, Canadian Occupational Projection System and Department of Finance calculations.

The 2027-2029 Immigration Levels Plan sets annual targets of 370,000 new temporary residents and 380,000 permanent residents, well below recent peaks.

Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Aug. 31, 2026, as reported in Budget 2026. New worker arrivals from January to August 2026 were 57% lower than in the same period of 2024.

A path to permanent status for 200,000 people already here

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is being reworked

The budget sets aside $151.5 million over five years to reform the program with the provinces and territories. Specific changes have not been released. The stated goals:

The budget also renews the Migrant Worker Support Program with $82 million over four years for groups that help temporary foreign workers understand their rights and deal with abuse, exploitation or workplace problems.

Starting with the 2027 tax year, the Build Canada Workers Benefit replaces the Canada Workers Benefit. About 1.9 million low-income workers would get more, including 180,000 new recipients.

Workers with the lowest earnings could get up to $675 more a year, or nearly $1,000 more with the disability supplement. Heads-up for payroll and HR teams: advance payments will be cut in half starting July 2027 and eliminated from the 2028 tax year. Workers will instead get their full amount after filing a tax return.

Caregivers get a refundable credit

A new exemption shelters up to $15 million in capital gains on shares of eligible Canadian companies, including shares employees receive for their work. The government says that should make equity more attractive as part of an early-stage employee's pay.

Share of the gain a founder keeps after tax. Amounts in Canadian dollars; figures average after-tax proceeds with and without the Alternative Minimum Tax. Source: Budget 2026, Chart 1.3.

Shares must be issued on or after budget day and before 2037 and held for at least 36 months. Consulting firms, professional practices, franchises and companies in sectors such as finance, real estate, mining, agriculture, and food and accommodation are excluded. With an enhanced small business rollover, the package provides $715 million in tax relief over four years.

Each figure is about 4,000 employees. Source: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat reporting, cited in Budget 2026.

Smaller changes that will show up in employee questions, expense claims and pension administration. Tap a card to flip it.