Budget 2011: A Low-Tax Plan for Jobs & Growth
June 17, 2021

On June 6th, the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, re-introduced the Next Phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan - Budget 2011, into the House of Commons. It is a low-tax plan for jobs and growth, which is what Canadians have asked for and what we are delivering.

Since July 2009, Canada’s Economic Action Plan has helped create nearly 540,000 new jobs. Budget 2011 – the Next Phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan builds on this growth and will complete Canada’s recovery from the global economic downturn. We know there is still more work to do and that the global recovery remains fragile. Therefore, to ensure our recovery is complete, the Next Phase focuses on four key areas: supporting job creation; supporting families and communities; investing in innovation, education, and training; and preserving Canada’s fiscal advantage.  

Budget 2011 supports job creation by extending the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance. This will help manufacturers and processors make new investments in machinery and equipment. We will enhance and extend programs to help businesses keep workers through work-sharing, the Wage Earner Protection Program and the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers. Budget 2011 also includes a hiring credit for small businesses, which provides a one-time credit of up to $1,000 to encourage additional hiring.

Families and communities are provided with continued support by our Government in Budget 2011 through several measures, including enhancements to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). This measure would offer eligible low-income seniors to receive additional annual benefits of up to $600 for single seniors and $840 for couples; helping more than 680,000 seniors across Canada. Budget 2011 introduces a new Children’s Arts Tax Credit on up to $500 in eligible fees for programs associated with arts, cultural, recreational, and developmental activities. In addition, a new Family Caregiver Tax Credit (on an amount of $2,000 for caregivers of loved ones with infirmities, including for the first time, spouses, common-law partners, and minor children) was introduced. This Budget also answers the call from many for a Volunteer Firefighters Tax Credit, as well as the extension of the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes Program. This popular program assists families in lowering their heating and electricity bills by making their homes more energy efficient.

Budget 2011 makes investments in innovation, education, and training by investing hundreds of millions of dollars for R&D, higher education, and new technologies (including clean energy).  It extends tax relief for skills certification exams by making all occupational, trade, and professional exam fees eligible for tax relief through the Tuition Tax Credit. It also doubles the In-Study Income Exemption from $50 per week to $100 per week, benefiting over 10,000 students by allowing them to work more without negatively affecting their loans.

The Next Phase of Canada’s Action Plan aims to preserve Canada’s fiscal advantage by continuing to follow Budget 2010’s 3-point plan to return to budget balance. This will be achieved by winding down the temporary stimulus and instituting targeted spending restraint measures, as well as reviewing government and administrative and overhead costs. We’re building on that plan by delivering savings from the 2010 strategic reviews, closing tax loopholes, and launching a one-year government-wide Strategic and Operating Review. Such measures will allow us to remain on track to balance the budget by 2015-16.

I recently had the honour of participating in the debate of Bill C-3 - the Budget Implementation Bill. Budget 2011 - the Next Phase of Canada’s Action Plan is a positive plan to create jobs and to promote economic growth across Canada. It looks to the future, while recognizing the priorities of all Canadians today. For more information, please feel free to visit www.budget.gc.ca.