Canada’s latest federal budget promises to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars for charities, reshape direction and control laws, and launch or top up funds for menstrual health, Indigenous climate action, and housing. Yet it falls far short of the ambitious spending plans put forward in the first two years of the pandemic to strengthen Canada’s social safety nets. 

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s second budget promises just $31.2 billion in net new spending over the next five years. To put that into comparison, 2021’s budget earmarked $30 billion in spending over five years simply to lay the groundwork for Canada’s national childcare plan. This year’s federal budget may represent a return to more guarded federal spending, something Freeland hinted at in the House of Commons.

“Our ability to spend is not infinite,” Freeland told the House shortly after tabling the 2022 budget on April 7. “The time for extraordinary COVID support is over. And we will review and reduce government spending because that is the responsible thing to do.”

However, there are still plenty of problems for Canada’s civil society organizations to address: the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, rising cost of living across the country, the climate emergency, inequities faced by Indigenous communities, and global humanitarian crises. It appears as though, despite all of these pressing issues, the Canadian government wants to rein in new spending.

For the third year in a row, Future of Good’s editorial team dove into the 2022 federal budget’s 280 pages, far slimmer than previous years, and picked out 22 highlights — large and small — that matter to the social impact world.

Launch the Canada Growth Fund

The numbers: $15 billion over five years.

The details: The Canada Growth Fund would attract “substantial private sector investment” related to emissions reduction, grow Canada’s low carbon industries, and restructure the country’s critical supply chains, specifically in its natural resources sector.

The reasons: “On the fight against climate change alone—to build a net-zero economy by 2050—Canada will need between $125 billion and $140 billion of investment every year over that period. Today, annual investment in the climate transition is between $15 billion and $25 billion.”

Close Indigenous housing gaps

The numbers: $6.3 billion over seven years.

The details: This figure includes $2.4 billion over five years to support First Nations housing on reserves, and $565 million over the same timeframe for First Nations Self-Governing and Modern Treaty Holders communities. Inuit communities will get $845 million for housing support over seven years, while Metis communities will receive $190 million. In addition, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) will get $300 million over five years to co-develop and launch an Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.

The reasons: “These investments are building progress to address the inequalities that exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada…safe and affordable housing is critical to improving health and social outcomes and to ensuring a better future for Indigenous communities and children.” 

Start the Indigenous Climate Leadership Agenda

The numbers: $29.6 million over three years.

The details: As recently announced in Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, the 2022 budget promises to fund Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to co-develop an Indigenous Climate Leadership Agenda. The funding will also support the launch of what the budget documents call “distinctions-based climate strategies”, although there isn’t any further clarification.

The reasons: “As Indigenous peoples and their ancestors have long been the stewards and managers of the lands and waters that make-up Canada’s ecosystem, Indigenous peoples are critical partners to conversations about addressing climate change at all levels of Canadian Society.”

Allow Employee Ownership Trusts

The numbers: Unclear.

The details: The budget promises to create a new type of trust within the Income Tax Act – the Employee Ownership Trust – to allow for employee ownership of private businesses. Canada’s government will also keep running consultations to finalize rules for these new trusts.

The reasons: “Employee ownership trusts encourage employee ownership of a business, and facilitate the transition of privately owned businesses to employees.”

Raise the disbursement quota to 5 percent for large foundations 

The numbers: Up to $700 million in assets unlocked for non-profits and charities.

The details: Foundations (and charities that aren’t grantmakers) with over $1 million in investment assets will now be required to spend at least 5 percent of their asset value on charitable activities each year. These changes will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, and be reviewed after five years. (Imagine Canada, a major sector lobby group, effectively asked for these changes in their Nov. 2021 submission to a committee studying the disbursement quota.)

The reasons: “This new, higher rate will boost support for the charitable sector while being set at a level that is sustainable, ensuring the continued availability of funding over the longer term.”

Housing Accelerator Fund

The numbers: $4 billion over five years.

The details: This new Housing Accelerator Fund is designed to help municipalities build new housing quickly. Funding to speed up municipal planning and delivery or even give financial incentives to cities for building new homes are all possibilities. Both big cities and small towns are eligible, and the 2022 budget documents say the Fund will have a “flexible single application system.”

The reasons: “Building more housing will require investments, but it will also require changes to the systems that are preventing more housing from being built. The federal government’s goal is to incentivize the cities and towns that are stepping up to get more housing built, while also ensuring that municipalities are able to get the support they need to modernize and build new homes.”

Support for Bill S-216

The numbers: Unclear.

The details: The Canadian government will be amending the Income Tax Act to allow a charity to provide resources to organizations that are not qualified donees, under certain conditions. No further details are provided in the budget itself, but the documents say these changes are “intended to implement the spirit” of Bill S-216, originally known as Bill S-222 – a Senate bill put forward by Ontario Senator Ratna Omidvar.

The reasons: “Canadian charities carry out a wide range of important work, including vital international development and relief activities around the world and providing direct support to Canadians here at home. Canada’s tax rules should support their work and minimize their administrative burdens, while still ensuring accountability for how charitable resources are used.”

Bring 451,000 permanent residents to Canada annually by 2024

The numbers: $2.1 billion over five years, with $317.6 million a year in funding beyond that.

The details: Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan was last updated in February 2022 with a goal to resettle 451,000 permanent residents every year by 2024. The Plan also gives a firm commitment to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees “over the next several years.”

The reasons: “The Immigration Levels Plan helps reunite family members with their loved ones, and allows us to continue to be home to the talents of those already in Canada by granting permanent status to temporary residents—including essential workers and international students.”

Claw back planned COVID-19 pandemic spending

The numbers: Up to $3 billion clawed back over the next four years from previously announced pandemic programming. 

The details: The Canadian government will be re-examining previously announced spending plans for the COVID-19 pandemic to rein in overspending. No specifics of what programs will be targeted are in the 2022 budget documents, but an update on the initiative will be in 2022’s fall economic update.  

The reasons: “Supporting Canadians and businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic required extraordinary, time-limited government supports and programs. The government remains committed to unwinding COVID-related special measures and normalizing the overall level of program spending.”

Enhancements to gender-based violence prevention and response services across Canada

The numbers: $539.3 million over five years.

The details: Women and Gender Equality Canada will receive this funding to support provincial and territorial gender-based violence services, including prevention and survivor support. This investment is also for provinces and territories to implement the yet-to-be-announced National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence. (“Further details on the National Action Plan will be provided in the months ahead,” the 2022 budget documents read.)

The reasons: “Building on investments to date—including over $600 million over five years provided through Budget 2021—the government is now moving forward with provinces and territories to ensure a coordinated, national response to end gender-based violence across Canada.”

Start a disability-focused employment strategy that includes autistic and intellectually disabled workers

The numbers: $272.6 million over five years.

The details: This initiative would start a disability employment strategy through the pre-existing Opportunities Fund to help disabled workers find jobs and improve workplace accessibility. $20 million of the strategy would be allocated to the Ready, Willing and Able program specifically for intellectually disabled or autistic workers.

The reasons: “Persons with disabilities should be fully included in Canada’s economic recovery. However, despite being ready and willing to work, their employment rates are much lower than those of Canadians without disabilities—59 per cent versus 80 per cent, according to the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability.”

Launch a new Anti-Racism Strategy and National Action Plan on Combatting Hate

The numbers: $85 million over four years.

The details: This money will go towards community projects as grants to help them raise awareness of racism in Canada, as well as initiatives that help Black and racialized people, as well as religious minorities, find jobs.

The reasons: “While as a country we have made real progress, racism continues to be an everyday experience for many Canadians, as evidenced by a sharp rise in anti-Asian racism, anti-Black racism, anti-Semitic hate, and a number of horrific Islamophobic attacks in recent years.”

Additional funding for the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative

The numbers: $50 million over two years.

The details: All $50 million will support Black-led and Black-serving community organizations in promoting inclusivity, according to the budget, although it doesn’t offer any additional specifics. Social Development Minister Karina Gould will also work on further options to “continue supporting capacity building within Black-led and Black-serving community organizations in the long term.”

The reasons: “Data continues to show that Black Canadians face more precarious employment, and an unjust prevalence of low-income households as a result of anti-Black racism that has a detrimental impact on the socio-economic well-being of many Black Canadians.”

More money for the Federal LGBTQ2 Action Plan

The numbers: $100 million over five years.

The details: Very few specifics are present in the 2022 budget documents – it only says the money will go towards the forthcoming Federal LGBTQ2 Action Plan that will support “a fairer and more equal Canada for LGBTQ2 Canadians.”

The reasons: “While Canada has made significant progress since same-sex marriage was legalized in 2005, many LGBTQ2 Canadians still face discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, which continues to result in persistent health, social, and economic inequities.”

Co-develop an UNDRIP action plan with Indigenous partners

The numbers: $75.3 million over five years.

The details: Justice Canada and Natural Resource Canada will use $65.8 million to speed up their work on an action plan with Indigenous partners to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. On top of that, another $9.5 million has been earmarked for the Department of National Defence to “align its operations and engagement with Indigenous peoples with the Act.”

The reasons: “The coming into force of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act marked a historic milestone in Canada’s collective journey towards reconciliation—one rooted in the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership. The federal government remains committed to the Act’s full and effective implementation, in partnership with Indigenous peoples.”

More money for the Indigenous Community Support Fund

The numbers: $190.5 million over one year.

The details: The Indigenous Community Support Fund will get another $190.5 million to help communities and Indigenous organizations mitigate the ongoing impacts of COVID-19.

The reasons: “As Canada comes through the pandemic, the government will continue making high-quality and culturally-relevant health care, free from discrimination, a reality for Indigenous peoples…[who] continue to face unique challenges in responding to COVID-19.”

Support for Indigenous-led child welfare laws

The numbers: $87.3 million over three years.

The details: Indigenous communities will be able to use this funding to work with the Canadian government, as well as provinces and territories, to create Indigenous child welfare laws. Canada’s foster care population is disproportionately Indigenous thanks to longstanding social inequities, systemic racism, and intergenerational trauma caused by colonialism and Canada’s residential school system.

The reasons: “Investments in Indigenous-led solutions are required to both reduce the number of children in care, and to keep Indigenous children and youth connected to their families, their communities, and their culture.”

Improve community-level opioid harm reduction

The numbers: $100 million over three years.

The details: Health Canada will receive funding for its Substance Use and Addictions Program to support harm reduction, treatment, and prevention at the community level. It isn’t clear from the budget whether this money will only flow to government health facilities – many frontline harm reduction services are run by non-profits, charities, or mutual aid organizations.  

The reasons: “An increase in opioid-related overdoses and deaths since the beginning of the pandemic has devastated communities across Canada. Tragically, many jurisdictions reported a record number of opioid-related deaths in 2021.”

Start a Menstrual Equity Fund

The numbers: $25 million over two years.

The details: Women and Gender Equality Canada will use this money to create the Menstrual Equity Fund, an initiative to help make menstrual products available to Canadians in need.

The reasons: “Access to menstrual products is a basic necessity, but current barriers make it difficult for some women, girls, trans, and non-binary Canadians to fully participate in school, work, and society.”

New anti-money laundering and terrorism financing oversight for crowdfunding platforms

The numbers: $89.9 million over five years, with $8.8 million ongoing.

The details: The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), Canada’s anti-money laundering agency, will receive this funding to implement new anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing requirements for crowdfunding platforms and payment service providers. It’ll also help the agency supervise federally regulated financial institutions, build up its understanding of virtual currency, modernize, and update its financial management and intelligence systems.

The reasons: “This will ensure that these businesses are required to monitor and report all instances of suspicious activity that may involve attempted money laundering or terrorist financing.”

Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund

The numbers: $625 million over four years.

The details: Through this funding, provinces and territories will be able to make additional childcare investments, including the constructions of new facilities. Quebec, which has a pre-existing public childcare system, will also receive funding as part of what the 2022 budget documents call an “asymmetrical agreement”.

The reasons: “As the federal government worked with provinces and territories on the completion and implementation of agreements, many raised that infrastructure funding was a challenge for non-profit and public providers where real estate costs were too high or building materials too expensive.”

Public dental care

The numbers: $5.3 billion over five years.

The details: Canadians who make less than $70,000 annually or live in a family with less than $90,000 in total income, will get free public dental care. Children 12 and under will receive coverage in 2022. Seniors, disabled Canadians, and children under 18 will be eligible in 2023, with full coverage by 2025. (This appears to be cut-and-pasted from the Liberal-NDP supply-and-confidence agreement.)

The reasons: “Seeing a dentist is important for our health, but can be expensive. A third of Canadians do not have dental insurance, and in 2018, more than one in five Canadians reported avoiding dental care because of the cost.”

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