Appropriation Act No. 2, 2026-27

Summary#

Bill C-32 would create the Appropriation Act No. 2, 2026–27. It would authorize up to $144,032,017,964 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for federal public administration expenses in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027. Its stated purpose is to fund expenses not otherwise provided for. The supplied text does not show whether the bill has become law; the provisions below are proposed.

• The total includes $140,396,109,102 for items in Schedule 1 and $3,635,908,862 for items in Schedule 2, after subtracting interim appropriations already granted under Appropriation Act No. 1, 2026–27.
• Each amount could be paid only for the purposes, and under the terms and conditions, stated for that item.
• Schedule 2 amounts could be paid and applied up to March 31, 2028. Payments must be charged first to the earliest appropriation for the relevant item, then to later ones.
• Unused Schedule 2 amounts would lapse at the end of the following fiscal year, subject to specified account adjustments. The text also permits certain accounting adjustments for Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 amounts after the relevant fiscal year ends.

What it means for you#

• Federal departments and other recipients named in the schedules: If the bill became law, they could draw on the authorized amounts only for the purposes and under the conditions listed for each item. The schedules are not included in the supplied material, so those recipients and conditions cannot be identified here.
• Taxpayers and the general public: The bill would authorize a maximum amount of federal spending, not require the full amount to be spent. It does not itself change taxes, create a public benefit, or establish a new front-line service.
• Federal public administration: This is a spending-authorization bill, not a new standing program. The supplied text does not identify which services or activities would receive funding.

Money#

The bill would authorize up to $144,032,017,964 in federal spending; no estimate of actual spending is provided.

• The bill sets a spending ceiling for the listed items, not a requirement to spend all of it.
• The supplied material does not include the schedules, so it does not show how the total is divided among departments or purposes.
• No publicly available information in the supplied material gives an estimate of actual spending, savings, or other costs.

What is unclear#

• The schedules that identify the items, recipients, amounts, purposes, and any conditions are not included in the supplied material.
• The material does not say which departments or activities would receive the largest amounts.
• The supplied text does not establish whether the bill has passed or when it would come into force. It says the schedule items are deemed to take effect from April 1, 2026.
• How much of the authorized amount will actually be spent is not stated.

Case for#

• A possible argument for the bill is that federal expenses need spending authority for the 2026–27 fiscal year.
• The item-by-item limits would restrict payments to stated purposes and conditions, rather than provide unrestricted authority to spend the total.
• The separate timing and payment-order rules for Schedule 2 amounts set limits on when those amounts may be used and how they are charged.

Case against#

• The supplied material does not include the schedules, so readers cannot assess the specific purposes, recipients, or conditions behind the large total.
• The bill authorizes a substantial maximum amount, but the supplied text does not show expected actual spending.
• The bill’s payment and accounting rules may be difficult to assess without the full schedules and the referenced prior appropriation amounts.