Carney previews items in budget, including school food program, automatic tax filing

The Canada Revenue Agency will prepare pre-filled tax returns for more low-income people with simple tax situations to ensure they get access to benefit programs, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday.

He said millions of lower-income Canadians don't file their taxes.

"And that means, too often, the people who most need benefits often don’t get them," Carney said.

Carney and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne held a press conference at a recreation centre in an Ottawa suburb Friday to preview programs in the upcoming federal budget, which is being introduced on Nov. 4.

The CRA already runs an automatic filing pilot program, something the Trudeau government first announced in 2023.

The agency was tasked with developing a plan to expand the service after gathering feedback from an advisory group and consulting with community organizations and tax professionals.

The automatic benefit program will be rolled out in the 2026 tax year, Carney said, and will cover up to 5.5 million people by the 2028 tax year.

He also announced the government will make the national school food program permanent with $216 million in annual funding.

The national school food program was created by the Trudeau government with $1 billion in funding over five years, beginning in the 2024-25 school year, and a target of feeding 400,000 kids each year.

The Carney government is now promising permanent funding beginning in 2029.

It's also reviving the "Canada Strong pass" for the holiday season and next summer.

That program, which was part of the Liberals' election platform and was launched last summer, offers free admission to parks and museums and discounts for young adults travelling on Via Rail.

Carney said visits to museums, parks and historic sites were up by an average of 15 per cent over the summer.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld