Will Trudeau’s ‘Fairness’ Budget Win Back Diverse Voters?

The Justin Trudeau Liberals dominated the news cycle over the past several weeks with their pre-budget tour, which focused on housing and affordability issues. Since the budget dropped in mid-April, their plans to increase the capital gains inclusion rate has garnered the most attention.

The Liberals hope to establish a narrative that will win back younger voters with various investments into issues affecting those who are just starting out. The younger voting bloc gave them decisive wins in the past several elections, but many younger people have since grown disillusioned with them.

While the media is focused on the marquee announcements, other important budget line items have been quietly overlooked as the media zoomed in on the capital gains tax as a source of scrutiny. Many of these measures could make a drastic improvement over time for the economic well-being of marginalized Canadians who are acutely affected by day-to-day affordability issues.

Budget decisions like federal funding for a national school food program, the inclusion of the Canada Learning Bond for automatic enrolment and a proposed retooling of the banking system may not grab headlines.

But they are an indicator of the government’s genuine efforts to tackle long-standing systemic inequities.

Delivering on a national school food program

The national school food program, announced at the start of the pre-budget tour and immediately crowded out by other announcements, was a long-held campaign promise by the Trudeau Liberals, first appearing in their 2021 platform.

While committing to provide meals for more than 400,000 children each year, it does not highlight the impact on specific communities. Indigenous, Black and racialized youth will disproportionately benefit from this funding, with the potential to have knock-on effects across our economy and future generations.

We take the benefits of breakfast or lunch for granted, but for low-income children, school nutrition programs lead to better test scores, better health in adulthood and improved behaviour in schools.

Children affected by this program today may not see drastic changes in one school term, but we can see a substantial change in their outcomes over time, leading them to be more productive and educated adults.

The net impact of this initiative will register when we’ll need everyone in the next generation to participate fully in our economy.

Addressing educational equity through learning bonds

Another forward-thinking policy expands access to the Canada Learning Bond for post-secondary education, which is a lesser-known financial instrument that provides a small nest egg for all children in Canada once they turn 18.

Budget 2024 now removes an administrative barrier for this program and automatically enrols children into an account if their parents have not done so, providing them with an initial $2,000 infusion to their registered education savings plan.

Data shows that the Canada Learning Bond is not effective in reaching low-income families, and that First Nations and Métis children are the least likely to have a Canada Learning Bond.

Scholars note that this is due to administrative barriers and communication issues as parents may not know about the program. With automatic enrolment, over 130,000 more children will have at least the start of a savings fund put away for them that can be used for skilled trades, college or university.

Parents from marginalized or low-income backgrounds will know that something exists for their child to have better access to post-secondary education — and may even be compelled to begin saving for them at a younger age when they may not have before.

A move towards fairer banking

Studies have found that Black and Hispanic customers in the United States routinely paid more than others when it comes to non-sufficient funds fees, which are applied to your bank account when you cannot cover a cheque or a preauthorized debit transaction.

Currently, banks can charge up to $48 for the NSF fees, which can add up for marginalized Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet. Budget 2024 would see this fee capped by $10 per instance, helping to prevent Canadians from being dinged again and promoting fairness within the banking system.

For those who are low-income, NSF fees are misunderstood and can often come by surprise. Imagine you’re having trouble making ends meet and you can just barely cover groceries, but you forget that your student loan is going to be automatically paid from your account and suddenly you’re short by $10.

This is the reality for many folks who are hit by these fees, and while our neighbour across the border has already taken the step to limit, if not remove, NSF fees, this provides a clear blueprint for how Canadian banks can be regulated.

The Canada Disability Benefit: overhyped and underwhelming

Budget 2024 contained a major program that garnered attention from the disability community — for all the wrong reasons. The Canada Disability Benefit was finally funded, providing $6.1 billion over the next six years to support people with disabilities within Canada.

The government established this program because of the inadequacy of provincial and territorial programs, and designed it as a supplement to ensure it won’t be clawed back.

However, the new benefit fell short for many activists and advocates as it will provide only an additional $200 per month, which will not substantially improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.

For those who do not have the option of working and who live with affordability challenges, even a small boost like this is not considered nearly enough.

The government has failed to manage expectations by overstating their ambitions and not coming close to meeting the parliamentary budget officer’s minimum model to reach the poverty line. The parliamentary budget officer’s report highlights that several billions more would be necessary for the program to be beneficial.

Governments will need to be prepared to address this funding issue as more and more of the population encounters disability in their lifetime.

From 2017 to 2022, the rate of individuals with one or more disabilities that limit their daily activities in Canada rose from 22 per cent to 27 per cent.

We should be concerned that this number could continue to rise over time due to long COVID — making it even harder to move the needle on quality of life for people with disabilities.

Does the budget live up to its title?

Does this budget live up to its title of “Fairness for Every Generation”?

For marginalized Canadians, it seeks to address the many challenges of affordability through policy and funding changes, both large and small.

Many of these less publicized budget items represent a small step forward to address systemic inequities. While these small improvements for people with disabilities are a welcome first investment, the government has a long way to go before the program can fully meet the needs of the disability community. The overall design of this benefit points to limited fiscal capacity for a benefit that was intended to be impactful, but still falls short.

As we move into an election year and the Liberals will undoubtedly be on the offensive, they have sketched in a kind of first-draft platform of how expanded social programs can make life more affordable — and it is clearly designed to present a stark contrast with the more austere platform expected from the Conservative opposition.

The Liberal government now faces the task of implementing the budget quickly — to demonstrate the impact of these changes and translate them into votes.