The Government of Canada tabled its Fall Economic Statement, which proposed:
- Investing an additional $81 billion through to 2027-28 in public transit, green and social infrastructure, transportation infrastructure
- Establishing a new Canada Infrastructure Bank that will be responsible for investing at least $35 billion from the federal government into large infrastructure projects that contribute to economic growth
- Adopting a new Global Skills Strategy that will set a two-week standard for processing visas and work permits for low-risk, high-skill talent for companies doing business in Canada
- Creating the Invest in Canada Hub to work with global companies to attract investment
The Government of Canada is also projecting:
- A federal budget deficit of $25.1 billion in 2016-17 and $27.8 billion in 2017-18
- Real GDP growth of 1.2% in 2016 and 2.0% in 2017
The labour market show some gains:
- Total employment in Canada has risen by almost 240,000 since October 2014
- This reflects gains outside the oil-producing regions, where employment has increased by nearly 275,000 over this period
- Employment in the oil-producing regions has fallen by more than 35,000 since October 2014, with over 70 per cent of this decline occurring in Alberta
Downward revisions to the governemnt's fiscal outlook:
- Lowered the outlook for the budgetary balance by $1.3 billion in 2016–17, $3.9 billion in 2017–18 and over $6.4 billion in each of the following three years.
- As a result, the value of the Budget 2016 forecast adjustment (of $6.0 billion per year) has been fully absorbed over the projection horizon