Federal Budget 2026: Crown Corporations
Federal Budget 2026 and Crown corporations: a $25 billion Canada Strong Fund, a merged BDC and EDC, and $59.1 billion in Crown lending in 2026-27.
Three Findings
- Lending to and investment in enterprise Crown corporations of $260.2 billion from 2026-27 to 2030-31 equals 90% of that period's $288.7 billion in deficits, and none of it counts in the deficit (calculated).
- Canada Post gets $2.6 billion in new support over seven years (calculated), yet its cost-table row shows a net saving of $102 million over five years because the table counts only incremental modernisation figures.
- At least ten Crown corporations are created, merged, moved to a new minister or given a new mandate (calculated count), and the cost tables book $3 million for the financing overhaul with no savings estimate.
The Crown Balance Sheet
Annex 1 treats Crown lending as a non-budgetary transaction. It adds to the cash Ottawa must borrow but never to the deficit. The table shows these outflows as positive numbers. Annex 1 prints them as negatives.
| Billions of dollars | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 | 2029-30 | 2030-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loans, investments and advances to enterprise Crown corporations | 55.4 | 59.1 | 66.3 | 66.4 | 36.3 | 32.1 |
| Same line, Spring Economic Update 2026 | 54.9 | 59.5 | 64.6 | 64.7 | 31.4 | 20.9 |
| Financial requirement | 103.9 | 149.5 | 169.0 | 168.0 | 139.1 | 139.1 |
| Crown share of the financial requirement (calculated) | 53.3% | 39.5% | 39.2% | 39.5% | 26.1% | 23.1% |
| Enterprise Crown corporation revenues | 13.1 | 13.0 | 16.0 | 20.7 | 23.5 | 26.1 |
Sources: Budget 2026, Annex 1, Tables A1.9 and A1.11. Spring Economic Update 2026, Annex 1, Table A1.10.
Crown lending is about two-fifths of Ottawa's cash need from 2026-27 through 2028-29 (calculated). It then drops by $30.1 billion in one year (calculated). Annex 1 says Canada Mortgage Bond requirements decline as earlier purchases mature and are repaid. It gives no other reason for the drop.
The line is $19.1 billion higher over 2026-27 to 2030-31 than in the spring (calculated). Most of the increase, $11.2 billion, falls in 2030-31 (calculated). The budget does not explain the revision. It also does not say whether the Canada Strong Fund's $25 billion sits in this line. No chapter cost table carries a row for the Fund, which suggests it is booked as an investment outside the budgetary balance.
Annex 2 gives one year of detail. Loans to enterprise Crown corporations are $66 billion of the $169 billion financial requirement in 2027-28, and up to $30 billion of the requirement buys Canada Mortgage Bonds (Budget 2026, Annex 2, Table A2.2). If those purchases sit in the Crown line, they could be as much as 45% of it (calculated). Annex 2 does not break Crown borrowing down by corporation.
Enterprise Crown revenues fall 0.7% to $13.0 billion in 2026-27. They then grow an average of 19.0% a year to $26.1 billion in 2030-31, on Crown profits and larger federal holdings of Canada Mortgage Bonds (Budget 2026, Annex 1). The 2030-31 figure is $2.3 billion above the spring forecast and the 2026-27 figure is $1.5 billion below it (calculated). Parliament raised the Borrowing Authority Act cap to $2,541 billion in March 2026, a cap that also covers agent Crown market borrowing and CMHC-guaranteed mortgage bonds. Borrowing under the cap is projected at $2,256 billion at March 31, 2028, which leaves $285 billion of room (calculated) (Budget 2026, Annex 2).
Crown by Crown
| Crown corporation | What changes | Amount | Instrument | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Development Bank of Canada | Merges with EDC into one federal development bank. Takes over the Canada Small Business Financing Program. New Pivot to Grow stream, with the revenue floor cut to $1 million | $500 million stream. $6 billion Defence Platform (existing). Up to $750 million in early and growth stage investments (cash) | Mandate, statutory authority, loan | Ch. 1, s. 1.1. Ch. 2, s. 2.3. Ch. 5, s. 5.1. Ch. 6, s. 6.3. Annex 3 |
| Export Development Canada | Merges with BDC. Takes the Canadian Commercial Corporation as a subsidiary. Higher Canada Account limit. New Forestry Sector Accelerator | $4 billion over six years from 2027-28 (cash) through the Canada Account. New limit not stated | Mandate, borrowing limit, loan | Ch. 1, s. 1.3. Ch. 2, s. 2.2. Annex 3 |
| Canadian Commercial Corporation | Becomes an EDC subsidiary | None stated | Statutory authority | Ch. 2, s. 2.2. Annex 3 |
| Canada Infrastructure Bank | Moves to the Minister of Finance. Mandate narrowed to loans and loan guarantees. Absorbs the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program | No new capital. The guarantee program is $10 billion | Mandate, loan, guarantee | Ch. 4, s. 4.3. Ch. 6, s. 6.3. Annex 3 |
| Canada Growth Fund | Wider mandate for growth and productivity investments | None new | Mandate | Ch. 6, s. 6.3. Annex 3 |
| Canada Development Investment Corporation | Holds the Canada Strong Fund as an interim subsidiary. Its Act is amended | $25 billion over three years to the Fund | Capital, statutory authority | Ch. 2, s. 2.1. Annex 3 |
| Build Canada Homes | More capital. Takes over Canada Lands Company's real estate and housing work | $13 billion over ten years from 2028-29 (cash), booked at $1,498 million over five years | Capital | Ch. 3, s. 3.2 |
| Canada Lands Company | Real estate and housing development functions move to Build Canada Homes | None stated | Mandate | Ch. 3, s. 3.2 |
| CMHC | No measure names CMHC. Federal mortgage bond purchases continue | Up to $30 billion a year | Loan | Annex 1. Annex 2 |
| Canada Post | Operating support. Urban door-to-door delivery converted to community mailboxes. Stamp rises to $2.00 in 2027, then 7% a year | $1.4 billion over two years. $1.2 billion over seven years. $101.4 million to reference levels over five years | Appropriation, mandate | Ch. 6, s. 6.3 |
| CBC/Radio-Canada | More operating money. First Eurovision entry, May 2027 | $300 million over two years from 2026-27 | Appropriation | Ch. 4, s. 4.1 |
| VIA Rail | Operations and maintenance money. Long-distance fleet renewal † | $1.2 billion over three years from 2027-28 (cash). Fleet renewal booked at $83 million over five years | Appropriation, capital | Ch. 4, s. 4.2. Annex 1, Table A1.19 |
| Alto high-speed rail | New law to streamline expropriation and allow early preconstruction | None in this budget | Statutory authority | Annex 3 |
| Atomic Energy of Canada Limited | Research infrastructure, research and workforce | $127 million over five years from 2027-28, $1 million ongoing | Appropriation | Ch. 1, s. 1.2 |
| Farm Credit Canada | New Agri-food Project Finance Fund. Tariff lending | $1 billion fund. $1 billion in new lending | Loan | Ch. 2, s. 2.3. Ch. 3, s. 3.2 |
| Defence Investment Agency | Becomes a Crown corporation under Bill C-40, introduced in October 2026 | No new amount | Statutory authority | Ch. 5, s. 5.1 |
| Trans Mountain Corporation | 15% stake offered to 128 Indigenous groups in September 2026. Finance implementation funding † | Sale price not stated. $1 million over five years for Finance | Equity sale | Ch. 2, s. 2.1. Annex 1, Table A1.19 |
| Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation | Coverage rises to $250,000. No limit for eligible registered and tax-free accounts | None in the cost tables | Mandate | Ch. 1, s. 1.5. Annex 3 |
| Federal Bridge Corporation | Moves to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure with other federal crossings | None stated | Mandate | Ch. 6, s. 6.4 |
| Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation | Larger loans and longer terms under the Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility | Not stated | Loan | Ch. 2, s. 2.3 |
| National museums | Free admission for under-25s. Facility repairs. RCMP Heritage Centre joins the portfolio | $46.3 million over five years for free admission. $783.1 million over five years (cash) shared with three other bodies | Appropriation, statutory authority | Ch. 4, s. 4.1. Annex 3 |
| All Crown corporations | Simpler approval of limited borrowing adjustments. A governance review with no corporations or dates named | None | Statutory authority | Ch. 6, s. 6.2. Annex 3 |
† Earlier decision booked in Budget 2026, Annex 1 policy-actions table, not a new Budget 2026 measure.
The budget has no measure for the National Capital Commission or Marine Atlantic. The Commission appears only in Annex 1's list of abbreviations.
BDC and EDC. The merger is the largest structural change in the budget. A specially constituted board will run the transition, and existing products continue (Budget 2026, Chapter 6, s. 6.3). The budget sets no completion date. Its only cost line is $3.5 million over two years for Finance to oversee the change. The same section tells financing Crowns to take more risk than private lenders. Greater risk tolerance could mean more loan losses, which would cut into the enterprise Crown revenues that Annex 1 projects to grow 19.0% a year. The budget does not reconcile the two.
Canada Post. The $1.4 billion for operations and the $1.2 billion for community mailboxes do not appear as gross costs in the table. The row books $346 million gross against $448 million in projected savings (Budget 2026, Chapter 6, s. 6.3). A footnote says Canada Post's overall net operating losses are already in the fiscal framework. This suggests the support reduces the enterprise Crown revenue line or moves as a loan. The budget does not say which. If the 7% increases start in 2028, the $2.00 stamp reaches $2.62 by 2031 (calculated). The mailbox conversion costs $1.2 billion and is expected to save about $2.2 billion over 10 years. The wider savings program is on the expenditure review page.
Canada Strong Fund. The Fund gets an initial $25 billion over three years and a mandate to earn commercial returns (Budget 2026, Chapter 2, s. 2.1). Annex 3 says its law would authorise funding from the Consolidated Revenue Fund and a retail product. Canada Strong Notes are due to launch in 2027 with principal protection. The budget does not size that protection or say what backs it. The Fund also gets equity in the airport concessions.
Build Canada Homes. The $13 billion over ten years starts in 2028-29, so the five-year cost table books $1,498 million (Budget 2026, Chapter 3, s. 3.2). Total capitalisation reaches $45 billion for a goal of 200,000 homes in the next decade. That is $225,000 of capital per planned home (calculated). At least 10% of the added money is reserved for Indigenous housing.
Canada Infrastructure Bank. Finance also gets $3.5 million to oversee the new financial Crown functions. This suggests one department will steer both the CIB and the merger. The Bank would absorb the $10 billion Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program (Budget 2026, Chapter 4, s. 4.3). That program includes the roughly $715 million Darlington guarantee (Chapter 1, s. 1.2) and a fifth guarantee under negotiation for an oil and gas project. Annex 1 lists CIB expenses among Capital Budgeting Framework investments. This implies they fall outside the operating balance that serves as the government's first fiscal anchor.
Defence Investment Agency and Trans Mountain. The spring update gave $2.4 billion (cash) to create the Agency and to support Ukraine combined (Budget 2026, Chapter 5, s. 5.1). The budget gives the Agency no separate operating figure. For Trans Mountain, the budget names no sale price for the 15% stake and books no proceeds. A sale would bring cash in and could produce a gain or loss on the balance.
New and Retired Vehicles
New vehicles:
- Canada Strong Fund, a standalone Crown corporation under legislation the government will bring forward "in the coming months" (Chapter 2, s. 2.1).
- Canada Strong Notes, a principal-protected retail product, in 2027.
- A single federal development bank combining BDC and EDC, with no date set.
- Defence Investment Agency as a Crown corporation (Bill C-40).
- Airport operating concessions of 40 to 50 years for the four largest airports, with the first operator chosen by early 2029. The launch costs $37.6 million over three years. The budget gives no estimate of proceeds. It says they would be reinvested in the air system and could help finance a sovereign broadband backbone (Chapter 1, s. 1.1).
- Major projects management entity, with $187.4 million over five years and $24.2 million in future years. Annex 3 promises legislation for its funding and governance but does not say whether it will be a Crown corporation.
- Canadian Earthquake Insurance Facility, funded by levies on insurers and able to provide up to $50 billion after an extreme earthquake. Its cost row shows a net gain of $154 million over five years (Chapter 5, s. 5.4).
- Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, a multilateral lender with headquarters in Canada. The Articles of Agreement are to be signed November 30, 2026. The budget does not state Canada's capital share (Chapter 5).
Retired or absorbed:
- The Canadian Commercial Corporation as a standalone Crown, now an EDC subsidiary.
- Canada Lands Company's real estate and housing development work, now at Build Canada Homes.
- The Canada Small Business Financing Program's administration, now at BDC.
- The Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program as a separate program, now inside the CIB.
- Shared Services Canada, replaced by Digital Transformation Canada under a new Act (Annex 3).
Why It Matters
The biggest Crown sums never reach the deficit. Crown lending of $260.2 billion over five years shows up in borrowing (calculated). Annex 1 says loans, investments and advances include up to $30 billion a year in mortgage bond purchases. None of it enters the budgetary balance or the operating balance. The two fiscal anchors are measured on the operating balance and the deficit-to-GDP ratio, so this lending does not count against them. If the Fund's $25 billion is booked as an investment, it would not count either.
Statute also replaces annual votes for some of the money. If the Fund's law authorises funding from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, its $25 billion will not come back to Parliament each year through the Estimates. Annex 3 also amends the Financial Administration Act to simplify approval of "limited adjustments" to Crown borrowing. It does not define limited or say which approval step goes. A higher Canada Account limit allows larger EDC deals on the government's account, and the budget does not state the new ceiling.
What Parliament will vote on are the smaller sums: $300 million for CBC/Radio-Canada, $1.2 billion for VIA Rail, $127 million for AECL, museum funding and Canada Post's reference levels.
Asked For vs. Delivered
Asks compiled by Stephen Taylor's AI Public Affairs Toolset, September 15 to November 5, 2026.
What to Watch
- The Canada Strong Fund bill, and whether the Public Accounts book the $25 billion as an investment.
- The BDC-EDC transition board, its legislation and any completion date or savings figure.
- The airport concession law and the first proceeds estimate before an operator is chosen by early 2029.
- How Canada Post's $1.4 billion is paid, and the stamp increase in 2027.
- The Trans Mountain sale price and any gain or loss.
- The Crown governance review in Chapter 6, which names no corporations yet.
- Canada's share of Defence, Security and Resilience Bank capital after the November 30 signing.
Net Assessment
Budget 2026 puts much of its new economic policy into Crown corporations. The new sovereign wealth fund, the merged development bank, the bigger Build Canada Homes and the airport concessions are its main tools. Crown lending takes about two-fifths of Ottawa's cash need from 2026-27 through 2028-29 and stays out of the deficit (calculated). The budget tells financing Crowns to accept more risk. It also counts on enterprise Crown revenues doubling by 2030-31 (calculated).
Disclosure is thin. The $25 billion Fund has no cost-table line. The budget does not say how Canada Post's $1.4 billion is paid. The BDC-EDC merger has no savings estimate or end date. Parliament will vote on the CBC and VIA top-ups, while most of the larger Crown money flows through lending authorities and new statutes. The Public Accounts and Crown corporate plans will be the first places to see the missing figures.