mars discoverydistrict – The budget
marsdiscoverydistrict@marsdd.com
Greetings from MaRS.
The next big test for Carney’s Liberals arrives next Monday when the House of Commons votes for the third and final time on the budget.
If it passes (which is looking more and more likely), what could it mean for the innovation community? Below, our vice president of public affairs, Christine Bomé, lays out what you need to know.
Budget 2025: By the numbers
“We really need to think about how we’re going to position Canada in the digital economy and the economy of tomorrow,” Finance Minister Philippe Champagne said last week at an event at MaRS. “How can we win and keep winning?”
The budget he tabled a few days earlier aims to improve our odds of success with a mix of new spending ($89.7 billion) and saving (roughly $56 billion in cuts to the public service and program spending). It’s designed to spur $1 trillion in private sector investments to boost productivity and competitiveness.
The budget outlines what he calls “a generational investment strategy”: to build a clean electricity grid, unlock the full value of our critical minerals, accelerate housing construction, and drive innovation in sectors like artificial intelligence, life sciences and advanced manufacturing — the kinds of investments that will supercharge growth.
There’s a lot to unpack in this budget, but within this 493-page document there are promising initiatives that could help advance AI adoption, SME procurement and open banking as well as address growth-stage funding gaps.
Notable line items:
● $750 million to support Canadian firms facing early growth-stage funding gaps
● $79.9 million to support the new Small and Medium Business Procurement Program
● $12 billion for emerging technology support (AI, quantum, EVs)
● $925.6 million over five years to fund large-scale sovereign public AI infrastructure, improving access to compute capacity for researchers and innovators
● $1 billion to launch the new Venture and Growth Capital Catalyst Initiative through BDC, a fund-of-funds that would leverage more private venture capital by incentivizing pension funds and other institutional investor participation. The initiative would also support new and emerging fund managers and important sectors such as life sciences
● $1.7 billion to recruit over a thousand highly qualified international researchers to Canada
● $656.9 million to develop and commercialize dual civilian-military technologies in a range of industries, including aerospace, automotive, marine, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, biodefence and life sciences
“It’s time,” Champagne said, “to work for a better future together, and use the talent we have in Canada to make us strong.” – Christine Bomé