It was a three-bears budget for many in social impact on Tuesday: Some provisions hit just right, while others were uncomfortable at best and absent at worst.

Some surprise budget announcements include targeted funding to combat racialized hate-related crime and the proposed creation of National Volunteer and National Caregiver strategies. However, other hoped-for programs, such as further funding for LGBTQ+ groups, are absent.

Here are some numbers that the social purpose organizations should pay attention to.

Diversity and inclusion

$273.6 million: funding over the next six years to combat hate, including community outreach and security, law enforcement reform, tackling hate crime, counter-radicalization and victim support.

$63 million: specifically to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation to expand their work, creating a Community Information Resource Hub to collect hate-crime-related data. This may mean that community groups already trying to collect this kind of data could soon have a central place to report it. 

$12 million: money for Women and Gender Equality Canada to fund projects to combat hate against the 2SLGBTQI+ community. While the funding is welcome, 2SLGBTQ+ serving organizations say this year’s budget didn’t include any commitments for capacity funding, which is concerning for organizations’ ability to help marginalized communities.

Mental health and caregiving

$2,400: an extra $200 monthly payment for Canadians aged 18-64 with disabilities, but the funding still falls short of the $2,000 total in all government subsidies for people with disabilities asked for by advocates. The budget document doesn’t stipulate the maximum income threshold, meaning some higher-income Canadians could receive this monthly payment. The government also announced forming a National Caregiving Strategy, but there were no details.

$100 million: annual funding for the next five years for a new Youth Mental Health Fund. Current wait times for youth to access anything but emergency mental health support are in the 1-2 year range. However, there are no details on how this money will be spent. 

$7.5 million: for Kids Help Phone over three years to help their work by providing mental health, counselling and crisis support. For many youth, this is the only mental health support they can access.

Volunteers

$400,000: for Employment and Social Development Canada to help Volunteer Canada develop a National Volunteer Action Strategy. Volunteer Canada has been asking for this for years.

$800,000: to help Natural Resources Canada and the International Association of Fire Fighters build wildfire fighting capacity. This builds on existing funding to support the federal government’s commitment to train 1,000 wildland firefighters. Climate change is the single biggest threat to human health, and wildfires are part of that impact.

Education and youth

30 years: to amend the Canada Education Savings Act to retroactively change the age to apply for the Canada Learning Bond from 20 to 30. This change would allow people who start their post-secondary studies later to benefit from the government’s contribution to their education savings.

$39.2 million: over two years, beginning in 2024-25, to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to advance the next phase of CanCode, which teaches youth in-demand coding skills.

$5.2 million: over two years to the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning in Yellowknife to increase culturally appropriate post-secondary education in the North.

$12.5 million: for Indigenous Youth Roots over two years to help them identify and partner with other Indigenous-led organizations. Indigenous-led organizations face systemic barriers to funding and support, so increasing funding to build robust networks is vital. 

$1.3 million: over three years to work with Indigenous partners to help keep Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people safe. This is a minuscule amount for a comprehensive, systemic problem rooted in colonialism and racism.

Communities

$60 million: to support Friendship Centres across the country over two years, which provide services to community members, including health, housing, education, recreation, language, justice, employment, economic development, culture, and community wellness. Friendship centres are a significant national network of self-determined, Indigenous-owned, and operated community hubs that offer programs, services, and support to urban Indigenous people.

$10.6 million: for the Future of Sport in Canada Commission in its review of the Canadian Sport system. This includes making recommendations to help prevent the maltreatment of athletes in sports, especially youth participants. Youth participating in sports is a fundamental part of building communities, according to one expert. 

Investment and financial services

$3 trillion: Canadian pension fund assets total $3 trillion. In collaboration with pension funds, the federal government will set up a working group led by Stephen Poloz, former governor of the Bank of Canada, to study how to increase Canadian pension funds’ domestic investments, including in digital infrastructure and AI investment, physical infrastructure, airport facilities, venture capital investments, and real estate housing on public land. This could mean an increase in investments in affordable housing and community infrastructure. 

$60 million: Prosper Canada will expand community-delivered financial help services to low- to moderate-income Canadians over five years. The goal is to help them receive nearly $2 billion in unclaimed tax and benefit income. Workplaces and community groups are realizing that financial pressure is a significant indicator of stress in their workers’ and volunteers’ lives, and some have started classes to help workers manage their financial health.

$622 million: Tax revenue forgone due to the government’s decision to relax several proposed changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax. The changes include easing a proposed reduction in donation incentives for the very wealthy—a move some charity professionals welcomed, fearing a reduction in gifts from affluent donors.

$30.6 million: Justice Canada will use this funding over three years to help victims of workplace sexual harassment find legal support. This funding could potentially help workers without the financial means to take action against their workplaces’ lack of action regarding sexual harassment and assault complaints.

Global Aid

$350 million: to support countries in the global South—home to the vast majority of the world’s biodiversity—to advance conservation efforts and implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. An additional $350 million was announced to enhance Canada’s ability to respond to large-scale and deteriorating humanitarian crises worldwide. Refugees worldwide flee disaster for Canada, so helping those countries during environmental, climate or political crises is paramount. Despite these numbers, there was no mention of Sustainable Development Goals for Canada in the 2024 budget. 

$400 million: to Haiti in response to security, humanitarian, and development assistance since 2022, including to enhance policing support and equipment for the Haitian National Police and bolster Haitian-led solutions to the crisis.

Technology

$5.1 million: for the AI and Data Commissioner Office with the necessary resources to begin enforcing the proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act, starting in 2025. There is no word on how non-profits can access the announced $2.4 billion in AI development grants. 

$20 million: Statistics Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funding to modernize and enhance the collection and dissemination of housing data, including municipal-level data on housing starts and completions.

$32.1 million: over five years to upgrade Global Affairs Canada’s information management and technology (IM/IT) systems to help partners access granting money.

Environment

$150 million: The federal government is replacing the Canada Greener Homes Grants program with the Canadian Green Building Strategy, which provides annual public investments of $150 million annually over six years, down significantly from $867 million annually. Experts tell us the initial program was exceptionally popular and were disappointed to see this program cut back.

– With files from Diane Berard, Sharlene Gandhi, Jahanzeb Hussain, Anam Latif, Gabe Oatley and Shannon VanRaes.

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