| Budget of the Canadian Federal Government | |
| Year: | 1997 |
| Country: | Canada |
| Previous Budget: | 1996 Canadian federal budget |
| Previous Year: | 1996 |
| Next Budget: | 1998 Canadian federal budget |
| Next Year: | 1998 |
| Presented: | 18 February 1997 |
| Parliament: | 35th |
| Party: | Liberal |
| Minister: | Paul Martin |
| Total Revenue: | 160.864 billion |
| Total Expenditures: | 157.905 billion |
| Surplus: | $2.959 billion[1] |
The Canadian federal budget for fiscal year 1997-1998 was presented by Minister of Finance Paul Martin in the House of Commons of Canada on 18 February 1997.[2] It is the last budget of the 35th Canadian Parliament and the last budget before the 1997 Canadian federal election. The budget's unofficial subtitle is Building the Future for Canadians (and for the first time the subtitle is used on the cover page of all budget documents).
The budget focused on increased support for education, healthcare and childcare-related expenses.
The Working Income Supplement (WIS) is vastly enhanced by the budget:
| Pre-budget | Post-budget Starting July 1, 1997 | |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum benefit | $500 $750 starting July 1997 $1,000 starting July 1998 | $605 for the first child + $405 for the second child + $330 for the third and each subsequent child |
| Phase-in start income level | $3,750 | |
| Maximum benefit income level | $10,000–$20,921 | |
| Phase-out start income level | $20,921 | |
| Phase-out reduction rate | 10% | 12.1% for one-child families 20.2% for two-child families 26.8% otherwise |
| Phase-out complete income level | $25,921 |
Some technical changes were made to corporate income taxes, mostly to increase revenues:
Marcel Massé, President of the Treasury Board, tabled the 1997-98 Main Estimates on 20 February 1997, outlining the government's spending plan for the year ending 31 March 1998.[3] The budget planned for a 2.9% decrease in program expenses over 1996-97 with $103.2 billion set aside in the budget and another $2.8 billion to be allocated through a supplementary budget sometime in the year.[4]
Including the $46 billion interest expense on the national debt, the Main Estimates totals $149,555,320,000 in spending for the 1997-98 fiscal year,[3] an $8 billions decline versus the preceding fiscal year.[5]
Several transfers and departments were affected by cuts:[3]
Bernard Landry, Deputy premier of Quebec and Minister of Finance, severely criticized the Martin budget as an electoralist and cynical budget. He pointed out that the budget planned for $1.4 billion in cuts for the CHST and set aside funds for actions in areas of provincial jurisdiction (notably health and childcare). He also regretted that the budget did not set aside a compensation for the harmonization of the Quebec Sales Tax with the federal GST, for which he asked a $1.9 billion compensation.[6]
Lucien Bouchard, Premier of Quebec, expressed a similar opinion, saying that the budget was hypocritical, bordering on dishonesty.[7]
Ernie Eves, Ontario's Minister of Finance, expressed mixed feelings: he welcomed the deficit reduction effort of the federal government but regretted that Paul Martin chose not to cut income taxes or Employment insurance premiums.[8]
Most changes announced in the budget were included in the omnibus Budget Implementation Act, 1997 which received royal assent on 27 April 1997 after being adopted by the House of Commons on third reading on 22 April 1997 by 109 votes for versus 51 against (Reform, NDP and Bloc MPs). No Progressive-Conservative MPs voted on the bill.[9] Four days after the budget passed, Chretien dissolved parliament and called for an election to be held on June 2nd.