Champagne, Carney travelling across country to sell federal budget to Canadians

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his cabinet ministers are fanning out across the country to sell communities on the Liberal government's latest federal budget.

Carney will be in Winnipeg Friday to highlight new measures on homelessness alongside Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.

The Carney government is promising to end homelessness in Canada within a decade, with $11.2 billion set aside in the budget over four years, starting next year, and $17.8 billion over 10 years.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will be in Montreal on Friday to attend an event hosted by the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations to tout highlights of the federal spending plan, which commits billions of dollars toward stoking investment.

Champagne has presented the budget, titled "Masters of our Destiny," as an ambitious plan to help Canada gain a solid economic footing in an increasingly volatile world.

Opposition leaders weighing in on Carney's second budget have argued it falls short, particularly when it comes to helping Canadians struggling with the high cost of living.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre described it on Friday as a "costly credit-card budget" full of "wasteful spending" that will drive up national debt.

"When you put more money on the credit card, you pay more interest to the financial institutions," Poilievre said. "The Liberals should have called their budget 'Mastered by Debt.'"

Poilievre made the comments while speaking at a news conference at a local food bank facing supply shortages and a spike in demand. 

Food banks across the country have seen a rise in demand as households grapple with sharp financial pressures from the rising cost of living.

"We've gone beyond a food crisis to a food emergency," the Conservative leader said. "People cannot afford to eat. This is the inflation hell that people are living in after 11 years of Liberal government and it's getting worse."

The budget includes a pledge to renew a local food infrastructure fund, which provides money to food banks and other aid organizations to both buy food and upgrade facilities, such as greenhouses, kitchens, and transportation equipment. It's a $124 million investment over three years, starting in 2027.

Unlike Carney's first budget, which was tabled under a minority government, the Liberals now have a majority and can get their agenda passed without the support of other parties.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2026.

— with files from Maan Alhmidi in Brampton, Ont.

Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.