Notes - 2026-27

• PBO releases the “Federal Employment Tracking Tool”
  Sep 15, 2026 • NT-2627-011-S
  This note provides an overview of the Parliamentary Budget Office’s (PBO) new Federal Employment Tracking Tool as well as analysis of recent trends in the federal public service workforce.
• Investment Multipliers
  Sep 10, 2026 • NT-2627-012-C
  Budget 2025 introduced $41.3 billion in new federal measures to support investment activity across five program areas: infrastructure, private research and development, housing, industrial development programs, and tax measures. The Standing Senate Committee on National Finance requested an assessment of the economic rates of return on these measures by investment type and under different scenarios. This note responds to that request by estimating investment multipliers using PBO's macroeconomic model. Each multiplier measures the net impact on real GDP of a permanent, inflation-adjusted one-dollar increase in the relevant investment category, accounting for behavioural responses including monetary policy, import leakages, and capital accumulation. Multipliers are estimated under two scenarios: one in which monetary policy responds to higher investment activity, and one in which it does not. Infrastructure and private research and development generate the largest and most sustained returns, growing over the five-year horizon as investment accumulates into productive capacity. Housing generates strong short-run returns, with additional benefits possible beyond those captured in the model, such as labour mobility effects. Industrial development programs produce the lowest multipliers, reflecting the high import content of machinery and equipment. Tax measures generate modest returns in the short run that grow substantially over five years as capital accumulates and productivity rises.
• Medical Cannabis Benefits Savings: A Note on the Government's Estimate
  Jun 16, 2026 • NT-2627-008-M
  The Parliamentary Budget Officer was requested by MP Blake Richards (Airdrie-Cochrane) to examine the cost profile of the Budget 2025 measure to lower the maximum reimbursement rate for medical cannabis under the Cannabis for Medical Purposes program from $8.50 per gram to $6 per gram – as part of the Comprehensive Expenditure Reduction exercise for Veterans Affairs Canada.
• Supplementary Estimates (A), 2026-2027
  Jun 9, 2026 • NT-2627-009-S
  This note examines the federal government’s first Supplementary Estimates for the 2026-27 fiscal year, which seeks Parliament’s approval for $11.1 billion.
• Federal financial support for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup
  May 20, 2026 • NT-2627-007-S
  In response to parliamentary interest, this note provides analysis of the federal commitments and costs associated with co-hosting the 2026 FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Men’s World Cup.
• PBO Assessment of Spring Economic Update: Economic and Fiscal Track
  May 4, 2026 • NT-2627-001-S
  PBO has prepared a series of notes assessing the Spring Economic Update 2026, tabled on April 28, 2026, in respect of Budget 2025 tabled on November 4, 2025. The objective of these notes is to support Parliamentary scrutiny of public finances. The notes review key elements of the budget cycle through time, notably the economic and fiscal track, fiscal anchors and fiscal sustainability, major government priorities guiding the capital investment strategy, and new spending measures announced since Budget 2025.
• PBO Assessment of Spring Economic Update: Fiscal Anchors and Fiscal Sustainability
  May 4, 2026 • NT-2627-002-S
  PBO has prepared a series of notes assessing the Spring Economic Update 2026, tabled on April 28, 2026, in respect of Budget 2025 tabled on November 4, 2025. The objective of these notes is to support Parliamentary scrutiny of public finances. The notes review key elements of the budget cycle through time, notably the economic and fiscal track, fiscal anchors and fiscal sustainability, major government priorities guiding the capital investment strategy, and new spending measures announced since Budget 2025.
• PBO Assessment of Spring Economic Update: Government’s Major Capital Priorities
  May 4, 2026 • NT-2627-003-S
  PBO has prepared a series of notes assessing the Spring Economic Update 2026, tabled on April 28, 2026, in respect of Budget 2025 tabled on November 4, 2025. The objective of these notes is to support Parliamentary scrutiny of public finances. The notes review key elements of the budget cycle through time, notably the economic and fiscal track, fiscal anchors and fiscal sustainability, major government priorities guiding the capital investment strategy, and new spending measures announced since Budget 2025.
• PBO Assessment of Spring Economic Update: Departmental Spending and New Measures
  May 4, 2026 • NT-2627-004-S
  PBO has prepared a series of notes assessing the Spring Economic Update 2026, tabled on April 28, 2026, in respect of Budget 2025 tabled on November 4, 2025. The objective of these notes is to support Parliamentary scrutiny of public finances. The notes review key elements of the budget cycle through time, notably the economic and fiscal track, fiscal anchors and fiscal sustainability, major government priorities guiding the capital investment strategy, and new spending measures announced since Budget 2025.
• PBO Assessment of Spring Economic Update: Temporarily suspending the federal fuel excise tax
  May 4, 2026 • NT-2627-005-S