Budget 2026 is about giving Canada a ‘strong footing’: Champagne

OTTAWA — Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says Thursday’s federal budget is about giving Canada a “strong footing” to navigate a more volatile world.

The Liberal government’s 2026 budget is set to land a little over a day after voters delivered a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump and the Republicans in the U.S. midterm elections.

Asked how impending Democratic control of Congress might affect Canada’s trade bargaining position with the Trump administration, Champagne said the upcoming fiscal plan is about giving Canada leverage at many negotiating tables.

“Whatever happens south or somewhere else in the world, we need to be more resilient, we need be more independent, we need to open up new markets,” he said.

“A strong Canada is a better Canada at any negotiating table.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in Ottawa on Wednesday that “job one” for the budget is to save Canadians money.

He is calling on the government to extend a pause on federal fuel taxes until next summer and to eliminate the industrial carbon price and clean fuel standard.

Poilievre also continued to rail against the Liberal government for deepening deficits under Prime Minister Mark Carney and said he wants to see an end to “out of control” spending.

Champagne said Wednesday that running deficits to support workers affected by U.S. trade aggression is “the right thing to do.”

“If you want to be strong, you have to support people in industries and sectors and regions which have done nothing wrong,” he said.

NDP Leader Avi Lewis told reporters on Parliament Hill that Canada doesn’t achieve economic sovereignty by giving tax cuts to big businesses.

He said he asked the government to include in the budget new investments in community housing and health care, a down payment on a network of government-run grocery stores and a wealth tax on Canada’s top earners.

Champagne was in Montreal on Wednesday to get a new pair of shoes before tabling the budget — a long-standing tradition for finance ministers.

Reporters were on hand as Champagne visited the Pajar shoe factory in downtown Montreal, sitting down to try sewing a few stitches and chat with employees in French, English or Italian.

He expressed pride in visiting a family-owned Canadian business and regularly repeated the title of his upcoming budget — “maîtres chez nous,” or “masters of our destiny” in English.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2026.

— with files from Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman in Montreal

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press