Appropriation Act No. 4, 2025-26

Summary#

Bill C-23, titled the Appropriation Act No. 4, 2025–26, would authorize federal spending for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. It would allow up to $5,408,955,628 to be paid from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for federal public administration expenses not otherwise provided for. The bill’s stated purpose is to fund the listed items in Supplementary Estimates (C); the schedules that identify those items were not supplied.

• The authorized amount could be used only for the purposes and under the terms and conditions set out for each item.
• Transfers of appropriations listed in the estimates would be treated as authorized from April 1, 2025.
• Schedule 2 amounts could be paid through March 31, 2027, with payments charged first to the earliest relevant appropriation. Any remaining balance would lapse at the end of that following fiscal year, subject to the stated accounting adjustments.
• The bill allows certain accounting adjustments after the relevant fiscal year ends. These adjustments must not require payments from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

What it means for you#

• Federal departments and programs: The bill would provide spending authority for the items in its schedules. The available text does not identify the departments, programs, or services receiving the money.
• Taxpayers and the public: The bill does not change taxes, fees, benefits, or eligibility rules in the text provided. It would authorize federal spending, but does not establish how much will actually be paid out.
• Status: The supplied material is bill text. It does not establish whether the bill has passed or is in force.

Money#

The bill would authorize up to CAD $5,408,955,628 in federal spending; the materials do not say how much will actually be spent.

• The money would come from the Consolidated Revenue Fund and is tied to the purposes and conditions of the listed items.
• The schedules are not included in the supplied material, so the amounts for individual items and their recipients cannot be identified.
• No estimate of actual spending, savings, or other costs is provided.

What is unclear#

• Which departments, programs, or other items would receive the money, and what each item’s amount and conditions are.
• Whether the bill has passed, and when it would come into force.
• What practical effect the specified accounting adjustments would have on individual accounts.

Case for#

• The bill appears intended to provide funding authority for federal expenses that are not otherwise provided for.
• Tying payments to the purposes and conditions of each listed item can limit what the authorized money is used for.
• The delayed payment and accounting rules set deadlines and an order for charging some appropriations.

Case against#

• Without the schedules, readers cannot see which activities would receive the funding or assess the conditions attached to individual items.
• The bill authorizes a large maximum amount, but the supplied material does not show the expected actual payments or the results they are meant to support.
• Treating transfers as authorized from April 1, 2025 means the authority would apply from that date, even though the supplied text does not explain the specific transfers.