Public Policy Forum Statement on Budget 2025

As the Canadian government seeks to nation build and take advantage of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to boost the country’s productivity, strengthen its sovereignty and create a more investible climate, the Public Policy Forum is pleased to see many aspects of this direction reflected in Budget 2025. 

While PPF recognizes the substantial challenges ahead, the budget provided some of the building blocks needed to bring an economic growth agenda to life in Canada. A focus on rapid and effective delivery is key to meeting Canada’s strategic goals, including turbocharging investment attraction and diversifying export markets. 

“Budget 2025’s investments in energy, critical minerals, infrastructure, housing, defence, the Arctic, digital and AI assets, coupled with prudent day-to-day spending to invest more strategically, will support a long-term growth trajectory for Canada,” said PPF’s President and CEO Inez Jabalpurwala. “These measures will provide businesses and investors with certainty and predictability at a time when Canada needs to intensify its efforts at attracting domestic and international capital.” 

Important investments in security and meeting Canada’s NATO commitments also allow for a national defence industrial strategy to take hold and support broader efforts to catalyze investments across a variety of sectors. 

“As a next step, the government and Parliament must remain laser-focused on implementation and execution, ensuring that the ideas and measures move from intention to tangible impact,” Jabalpurwala said. “Rather than an end, the Budget is a beginning — a launch point for Canada and Canadians to meet this moment of nation building.”  

PPF is continuing to identify high-impact sectors with the greatest potential to serve as engines of economic growth, as well as key policy levers, including internal trade, and pathways to diversify Canadian markets through its Mission Canada approach. Fueled by dialogue with PPF partners and members, as well as by independent research and multi-sector consultation, we are working to provide resilient policy recommendations for a nation at an inflection point. 

In the lead-up to the budget, PPF conducted our most extensive consultations ever to shape our landmark Build Big Things report. The report’s policy framework and its practical solutions are now clearly reflected in the government’s agenda — including the creation of a new Major Projects Office that was provided a mandate via Budget 2025 to quarterback financing, regulatory and Indigenous economic participation for nation-building projects to be fast-tracked.  

But as we’ve stressed, the difference between ambition and achievement lies in execution. Canada needs a common vision, clear strategic goals, strong intergovernmental and Indigenous partnerships and a relentless focus on monitoring progress. What gets measured gets done.  

At the same time, Budget 2025 marks a new beginning, signaling a serious effort to attract capital and drive productivity: from targeted tax incentives for energy investment and a $10-billion expansion of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, to strategic investments in critical minerals, as well as in transportation and enabling infrastructure, AI and talent. Together, these measures aim to unlock private-sector investment and build lasting momentum for growth.  

“These are precisely the kinds of actions PPF has called for: bold steps to leverage Canada’s strategic assets, unlock investment in major projects, boost productivity and power long-term economic growth, greater environmental outcomes and advancing Indigenous reconciliation. This is a demonstration sport and investors are watching closely. The matter is urgent with the next major projects announcement timed to the Grey Cup being a critical next step,” said Jay Khosla, PPF’s Executive Director of Economic and Energy Policy.  

Many of the budget’s key components closely align with other recent PPF recommendations, particularly on talent, where investments of $1.7 billion to attract talent to Canada are essential to match this nation-building agenda. As we’ve stressed in our Build Big Talent policy program, and again in a recent Globe and Mail op-ed co-authored by Jabalpurwala: “We need a co-ordinated national approach to develop the work force that aligns labour-market strategies with all of Canada’s nation-building efforts, including major projects and housing, ultimately ensuring an inclusive economic future.”  That approach must follow students from kindergarten to post-secondary education and on into the workplace, creating a future of work where human skills harmonize with AI to maximize technological innovation. 

Also in Budget 2025, PPF was pleased to see new investments in the Life Sciences Sector. “The sector has been underappreciated as an engine of Canada’s economy, so an explicit recognition that ‘innovation and scientific discovery are the foundation of long-term economic growth’ was welcome, reflecting PPF’s call to link the success of the sector directly to Canada’s overall economic growth story,” said Riaz Kara, PPF’s Vice-President of Policy.  

Specific measures such as the $1 billion Venture and Growth Capital Catalyst Initiative to drive investment and venture capital into Canada’s life sciences sector, and expansion of the Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax incentive program link directly to recommendations in PPF’s Canada’s Code Red report.    

Further, confirmation of $925.6 million in funding to support a large-scale sovereign public AI infrastructure, boosting AI compute availability and supporting access to sovereign AI compute capacity for research responds to calls made in PPF’s Mining Canada’s Health Data report. Together, these sectoral investments should lead to outsized financial and health dividends, and set Canada up as a global life science superpower.  

On democracy, new funding of $38.4 million over three years was provided for local news, which, as we’ve noted in our recent work, is a pillar of Canadian democracy, social cohesion and place-based economic development, and badly in need of support.  

There’s still so much work to be done:  

• Our Build Big Things project is working on sectoral deep dives and expansive consultations including on SMRs, LNG and mining projects.  

• Our Build Big Talent program is focusing on two central areas: surfacing practical policy ideas that bridge the gap between the people needs of economies across Canada and the skills being delivered through local education and training systems; and examining how a nuanced approach to immigration can ensure that gaps that can’t be filled with Canadian-grown talent can be met by attracting the brightest and the best from overseas.  

• Our democracy and good governance work will centre on successful local news business models with the potential to be scaled across the country, and PPF will explore how Canada can improve its social cohesion to stand the country in good stead as we embark on an ambitious growth agenda. 

“We’re in overdrive at PPF across these issues because the stakes are so high,” said Kara, PPF’s Vice-President of Policy. “We know that rival countries are moving at breakneck speed. Canada is well-placed to compete, but we must move on all fronts, everywhere and all at once.” 

Fueled by our diverse membership and powerful partnerships, we’ll continue to lead on these files, pursuing actionable policy that drives growth for all Canadians.