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last mo.

MPs Fast-Track Groceries and Essentials Benefit as Budget Watchdog Sets $12.4 Billion Price Tag

The measure temporarily boosts the GST/HST credit for low- and modest-income households through a five-year increase plus a one-time top-up.

Prime Minister Mark Carney makes his way though a aisles to an event at a grocery store in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
A worker shovels snow on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, January 20, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand
Minister of Justice, Attorney General of Canada and Minister Responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Sean Fraser speaks during a press conference in Ottawa, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
Finance and National Revenue Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne responds to a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Overview

  • MPs approved a unanimous consent motion to rush the bill through the House, sending it to the finance committee today with a final vote planned Wednesday and no amendments.
  • The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates total costs at about $12.4 billion over six years, higher than the government’s $11.7-billion projection due to modelling differences.
  • The PBO breaks out more than $3.1 billion for the one-time payment this year, with annual enhancements to the credit costing roughly $1.7–$1.9 billion through 2031.
  • The plan rebrands the GST/HST credit as the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, raising the credit by 25% for five years starting in July 2026 and delivering a top-up by June.
  • Roughly 12 million people would qualify, with first-year examples lifting a family of four’s total to about $1,890 and an individual’s to about $950, as Conservatives allow quick passage while calling the relief inadequate and costly.