Canada’s Budget 2021: A recovery plan for jobs, growth and resilience — was presented on 19 April 2021 and includes more than 280 proposed commitments, many of which aim to address some of the inequalities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Other changes include federal support for provincial health systems, employment insurance increases, old age security increases, diversity reporting, a minimum wage increase and protections for gig workers.
Other measures announced in the budget include the introduction of a CA$15 federal minimum wage, and the protection of gig workers in federally regulated industries. Canada’s early learning and child care strategy aims to reduce fees of regulated child care facilities by an average of 50% by 2022, and to achieve an average cost of CA$10 per day by 2026.