Both regional MP’s have issued the following statements after the Federal Budget was announced yesterday.
Liberal Bay of Quinte MP Chris Malette:
Budget 2026 reduces deficits, slows direct program spending growth from 8 per cent to 2 per cent, delivers more than $400 billion in capital investments over six years and introduces $22 billion in new affordability measures for Canadians.
“Canada has the resources, talent and determination to succeed in a rapidly changing world,” said MP Chris Malette. “This budget invests in workers, businesses and communities while maintaining the fiscal discipline needed to build a stronger and more prosperous future.”
The budget includes major investments to strengthen Canada’s economy, attract private investment, create skilled jobs, build more homes, modernize infrastructure and improve affordability for families.
For Bay of Quinte, Budget 2026 will help:
· Support local farmers and food processors through the National Food Security Strategy.
· Strengthen Prince Edward County’s wine industry through the proposed renewal of the Wine Sector Support Program, investing $176.9 million over three years beginning in 2027-28.
· Build more homes and improve housing affordability.
· Create skilled jobs through investments in manufacturing, infrastructure, clean energy, critical minerals and defence.
· Support 8 Wing CFB Trenton and military families through defence modernization and growth.
· Lower costs for families through grocery assistance, housing measures, mortgage supports and energy-efficient home retrofits.
· Invest $1.2 billion to extend federal funding agreements for mental health, addictions treatment, and home and community care services.
Budget 2026 also introduces a Refundable Canada Caregiver Credit, providing eligible caregivers with up to $1,260 annually beginning in 2027, while a new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit Supplement will provide a one-time 50% increase payment in early 2027, worth up to $339 for a single individual and $679 for a couple with two children.
“This budget delivers real support for Bay of Quinte residents,” said MP Malette. “It lowers costs for families, invests in housing and good-paying jobs, supports caregivers and military families, and lays out an ambitious plan to end chronic homelessness by bringing housing, health care and support services together. These investments will strengthen our communities and improve quality of life across our region.”
MP Malette also welcomed the proposed renewal of the Wine Sector Support Program, recognizing the importance of Prince Edward County’s world-renowned wine industry.
“Prince Edward County’s wine industry is a major economic driver for our region, attracting visitors from across Canada and around the world while supporting local jobs and businesses,” MP Malette explained. “Renewing the Wine Sector Support Program will help local wineries remain competitive, support jobs, strengthen agritourism and continue showcasing the best of Bay of Quinte to visitors.”
Budget 2026 also includes investments to strengthen Canada’s sovereignty, support the Canadian Armed Forces and their families, invest in arts and culture, expand recreation infrastructure, advance Indigenous reconciliation and build a stronger, more united Canada.
Conservative MP the Hastings-Lennox, Addington and Tyendinaga, Shelby Kramp-Neuman:
With the tabling of the federal budget today, the government has outlined its priorities and the direction it intends to take our country. A budget, however, is more than an accounting exercise. It is a measure of a government’s judgment, its willingness to make difficult choices, and its commitment to the kind of country we intend to leave to the next generation.
For families, seniors, farmers, and small businesses across Hastings-Lennox and Addington-Tyendinaga, the expectations were reasonable: a credible plan to address our growing national debt, meaningful relief from the rising cost of living, lower taxes on fuel, and a renewed commitment to the rural and small-town communities that are essential to Canada’s economic and social fabric.
Unfortunately, this budget falls short of those expectations.
With $142 billion in additional spending, the continuation of the industrial carbon tax, and a renewed commitment to the proposed $90-billion-plus ALTO high-speed rail project including measures to accelerate land expropriation the government is making significant commitments without adequately addressing the pressures facing Canadians today.
The concern is not simply how much government spends. It is whether that spending reflects sound priorities, delivers measurable results, and leaves our country on stronger financial footing.
Every dollar spent servicing our national debt is a potential dollar taken from health care, infrastructure, or any of the other needs of communities too often overlooked in national spending priorities. We cannot continue to treat borrowing as a substitute for economic growth or assume that greater spending necessarily produces better outcomes.
There are welcome, positive measures in Budget 2026 including making the Canada Caregiver Credit fully refundable and additional funding for the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare service. Good proposals deserve recognition, regardless of which side of the House proposes it, but isolated individual measures, however welcome, cannot substitute for a coherent and responsible fiscal plan.
Canada needs ambition, ambition that must be matched by discipline. Fiscal responsibility is not about abandoning our principles; it is about making the choices necessary to sustain them.
Given the current composition of the House of Commons, the budget is expected to pass. My Conservative colleagues and I will turn our attention to the budget’s implementation legislation and the upcoming main and supplementary estimates, where the government’s commitments must be subjected to careful, constructive, and thorough scrutiny. Canadians deserve accountability for every public dollar and an economic vision that extends beyond the next budget cycle.
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