Global Scans · Canada · Weekly Summary

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WHAT'S NEXT?: The U.S. and Canada's new governments will have their work cut out dealing with potential changes to their trade agreements while simultaneously Canada will be anxious to implement CETA with the EU.

• [New] Natural Resources Canada will play a critical role in managing program intake and providing capacity support to Indigenous applicants (e.g., to conduct financial due diligence). Business Council of Canada
• [New] Bringing Canada's mineral resources under national ownership could be one approach toward securing its critical mineral supply chains and developing the associated value chains. HillNotes
• [New] By providing Indigenous communities with the tools and resources they need to succeed, the Indigenous Guaranteed Loan Program will play a crucial role in advancing economic reconciliation in Canada. Indigenous Resource Network
• [New] The government of Canada missed an opportunity to support Canadian communities and improve affordability in the 2024 budget. Mass Transit
• [New] $96.4M over two years, starting in 2024-25, to Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to ensure that Indigenous communities can fully participate in the negotiation process. Miller Thomson LLP
• [New] $65M over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $1 3M per year ongoing to Canadian Heritage to permanently support the Indigenous Screen Office, which provides funding to First Nations, Inuit and Metis storytellers from across Canada. Miller Thomson LLP
• [New] $500M over five years, starting in 2024-25, for the creation of a new Youth Mental Health Fund which will help Canadian youth access mental health care. Miller Thomson LLP
• [New] $60M over five years, starting in 2024-25, to Prosper Canada to expand the community-delivered financial help services available to Canadians. Miller Thomson LLP
• [New] $15M over two years, starting in 2024-25, to the Department of Canadian Heritage to support community sport programming and reduce barriers to sport participation. Miller Thomson LLP
• [New] $58.8M over three years, starting in 2024-25, to the Department of Canadian Heritage for the Local Journalism Initiative, which provides funding to eligible Canadian media organizations. Miller Thomson LLP
• [New] $477.2M over five years, starting in 2024-25, and $147.8M in future years, to launch a new $1.5 B Canada Rental Protection Fund, to be administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, to protect the stock of affordable housing in Canada. Miller Thomson LLP
• [New] $112.6M over five years, starting in 2024-25, and $4.3 million in future years, for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to top up the Federal Lands Initiative to unlock more federal lands for affordable housing providers. Miller Thomson LLP
• [New] Budget 2024 proposes to provide $50 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to create an AI Safety Institute of Canada to ensure the safe development and deployment of AI. Gowling WLG
• [New] $14.5 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to ensure that small - and medium-sized clean tech businesses benefit from specialized intellectual property support to grow their businesses and leverage intellectual property. Gowling WLG
• [New] $176 million over five years, starting in 2025-26, to a national organization that manages Canada's ultra high-speed infrastructure network to connect researchers, educators, and innovators with network speeds hundreds of times faster, and more secure, than conventional home and office networks. Gowling WLG
• [New] $100 million over five years, starting in 2024-2025, to be invested in the National Research Council's AI Assist Program to assist Canadian small - and medium-sized businesses and innovators in building and deploying new AI solutions. Gowling WLG
• [New] $2 billion over five years, starting in 2024-2025, to launch a new AI Compute Access Fund and Canadian AI Sovereign Compute Strategy to increase Canadian business, research and startup access to compute power. Gowling WLG
• [New] Budget 2024 proposes to provide $5 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to support an overhaul of the Canada Lands Company to expand its activities to build more homes on public lands. Construction Association Of Nova Scotia
• [New] Building More Homes - Budget 2024 proposes to provide an additional $400 million over four years, starting in 2024-25, to the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation, to top up the Housing Accelerator Fund. Construction Association Of Nova Scotia
• [New] The Bank of Canada expects inflation to ease below 2.5% in the second half of the year, then return to its 2-per-cent target in 2025. The Globe and Mail
• [New] Today, the federal government will table its budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which should shed light on whether Ottawa's spending initiatives are working at cross-purposes with the Bank of Canada's efforts to tame inflation. The Globe and Mail
• [New] A First Nation in central British Columbia will build what the federal government says will likely be the largest off-grid solar project in Canada. CTVNews
• A boosted Canada Carbon Rebate (formerly the Climate Action Incentive Payment) will land in Canadians' bank accounts Monday after a contentious increase to the carbon price at the beginning of the month. Toronto Star

Last updated: 24 April 2024