Minister Alghabra announces Budget 2022 investments to make life more affordable for seniors and all Canadians

CALGARY, AB, April 19, 2022 /CNW/ - Through Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable, the government of Canada makes targeted and responsible investments to create good jobs, grow our economy, and build a Canada where nobody gets left behind.

Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced Budget 2022 investments that will help to bring down the cost of living for seniors and all Canadians including:

• Providing $68.2 billion in support through the Old Age Security (OAS) program to seniors in 2022-23, growing to $87.2 billion in 2026-27.
• Creating an expert panel to study the idea of an Aging at Home Benefit.
• Providing $5.3 billion over five years for dental care for Canadians;
• Doubling the qualifying expense limit of the Home Accessibility Tax Credit to $20,000 for the 2022 and subsequent tax years.
• Introducing a Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit, which provides up to $7,500 in support for constructing a secondary suite;
• $20 million over two years for an expanded New Horizons for Seniors Program to support more projects that improve the quality of life for seniors and help them continue to fully participate in their communities; and
• $475 million in 2022-23 to provide a one-time, $500 payment to those, including seniors, facing housing affordability challenges.

Since 2015, the government has delivered real improvements to make seniors' lives more affordable, including:

• A ten per cent increase to the maximum GIS benefit for single seniors;
• Reversing the announced increase to the eligibility age for OAS and GIS back to age 65 from 67;
• Beginning this July, a ten per cent increase to the OAS pension for seniors age 75 and over, which will provide additional benefits of over $766 to full pensioners in the first year; and
• Providing $6 billion over ten years to provinces and territories for the delivery of home care services.

Quotes

"Budget 2022 is about growing our economy, creating good jobs, and building a Canada where nobody gets left behind. Our plan is responsible and considered, and it is going to mean more homes and good-paying jobs for Canadians; cleaner air and cleaner water for our children; and a stronger and more resilient economy for years to come."

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

"Canadian seniors can be confident that they have access to support when they need it most. The investments announced in Budget 2022 will continue to support seniors and make Canadians' lives more affordable.

The Honourable Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport

Quick Facts

• Measures in Budget 2022 to make housing more affordable include:
• Putting Canada on the path to doubling the construction of new homes in the next decade;
• Helping Canadians buy their first home, including by introducing the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account and doubling the First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit;
• Launching a new Housing Accelerator Fund that will target the creation of 100,000 net new housing units in the next five years;
• Developing a Home Buyers' Bill of Rights and bringing forward a national plan to end blind bidding;
• Banning foreign buyers from owning non-recreational residential property for two years; and
• A Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit that will provide up to $7,500 in support for constructing a secondary suite or apartment.
• Measures in Budget 2022 to fight climate change include:
• More than $3 billion in funding to make zero-emission vehicles more affordable and build a national network of charging stations;
• Significant new investments to protect our land, lakes, and oceans; and
• The creation of the Canada Growth Fund to help attract tens of billions of dollars in private capital towards building a net-zero economy by 2050.
• Further significant measures in Budget 2022 include:
• $5.3 billion over five years to provide dental care for Canadians with family incomes of less than $90,000 annually, starting with under 12 year-olds in 2022, expanding to under 18 year-olds, seniors, and persons living with a disability in 2023, and with full implementation by 2025. The program would be restricted to families with an income of less than $90,000 annually, with no co-pays for those under $70,000 annually in income;
• Up to $3.8 billion to implement Canada's first Critical Minerals Strategy;
• $11 billion in additional funding to continue to support Indigenous children and their families, and help Indigenous communities continue to grow and shape their futures;
• More than $8 billion in new funding to better equip the Canadian Armed Forces, strengthen Canada's contributions to our core alliances like NATO and NORAD, and reinforce Canada's cyber security;
• Further support for Ukraine and its people in the face of Russia's illegal invasion, including up to $1 billion in new loan resources to the Ukrainian government through a new Administered Account for Ukraine at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and an additional $500 million in military aid;
• A temporary Canada Recovery Dividend, representing a one-time 15 per cent tax on the 2021 taxable income above $1 billion of Canada's largest banking and life insurers' groups, to help support Canada's broader recovery; and
• A permanent 1.5 percentage point increase in the corporate income tax rate of banking and life insurance groups on taxable income above $100 million.

Related Products

• Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable
• Budget Speech
• Budget news release and backgrounders

SOURCE Transport Canada

Media may contact: Laurel Lennox, Press Secretary Office of the Honourable Omar Alghabra Minister of Transport, Ottawa [email protected]; Media Relations, Transport Canada, Ottawa, [email protected], 613-993-0055