Restore capital spending definition
Petitioners ask the Government to restore the Public Accounts' prior 'capital investments' definition and require PSAS-aligned, transparent reporting. The government responds it introduced a Capital Budgeting Framework while keeping Public Accounts alignment.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would restore the Public Accounts' prior capital definition so capital and operating balances are reported consistently, making the true full deficit clearer.
- Requiring public-sector accounting standards and full disclosure would increase fiscal transparency and parliamentary oversight.
- It limits classifying tax breaks or subsidies as capital, addressing the petitioners' concern that such reclassification can misstate fiscal results.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- The government says its Capital Budgeting Framework highlights long-term investments; reverting could remove useful visibility about investment priorities.
- A strict prior definition may reduce flexibility to recognize nontraditional measures that contribute to economic capacity, complicating policy design.
- Enforcing the former treatment could constrain tools like targeted tax measures intended to support growth and make fiscal planning less adaptable.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the House of Commons: We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following: Whereas: The Liberal government has redefined "capital investment" to include tax breaks, subsidies, corporate welfare, and other spending that does not produce federal capital assets; This change departs from established Public Accounts practices and significantly expands what counts as capital spending and, therefore, artificially increasing revenues and decreasing expenses resulting in a misleading representation of the operating balance and true full deficit; The Parliamentary Budget Officer has warned that this inflates the government's role in capital formation and contradicts international standards and risks our credit ratings; This undermines fiscal transparency and misrepresents the true nature of federal spending. Therefore, we, the undersigned, call on the Government of Canada to: Stop hiding the true full deficit; Restore the definition of "capital investments" to match the prior treatment of capital spending in the Public Accounts of Canada; Ensure fiscal reporting follows Public Sector Accounting Standards; and Guarantee full transparency in how federal spending is classified and reported.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Finance and National Revenue Signed by The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne The Government of Canada has carefully reviewed the concerns regarding transparency of the federal deficit, the classification and reporting of federal expenditures, and alignment with Canadian public sector accounting standards. The government has adopted the Capital Budgeting Framework as a new lens through which federal spending is analyzed and communicated. It is intended to strengthen fiscal transparency, provide clearer information to Canadians and Parliament, and ensure that initiatives that deliver long-term economic returns are identified and prioritized. The government’s new capital budgeting approach, first announced on October 6, 2025, sets out the criteria and categorization of federal spending that qualifies as capital investment. These are further elaborated in Annex 2 of Budget 2025, tabled on November 4, 2025. The Capital Budgeting Framework does not change the definition nor treatment of capital expenses in the Public Accounts of Canada. Instead, it provides complementary information by highlighting investments that support long-term economic growth. At its core, the Capital Budgeting Framework establishes a consistent and transparent method to classify government spending (including tax expenditures) that contributes to capital formation, otherwise referred to as capital investment. It clearly distinguishes between spending that supports the ongoing delivery of essential services and other day-to-day government activities, and spending that builds the country’s productive capacity, enabling the government to prioritize the latter and help deliver lasting benefits to Canadians. It is important to emphasize that while Budget 2025 added an outlook for capital investments that is in accordance to the government’s new Capital Budgeting Framework, federal budget projections continue to be consistent with the Government of Canada accounting principles, and how the finances are reported in the Public Accounts of Canada. Importantly, the budgetary balance presented in the budget continues to align with the balance reported in the Public Accounts of Canada. As a responsible fiscal manager, the government remains committed to transparency and accountability. It will continue to ensure that future federal updates and budgets preserve comparability with the Public Accounts and strengthen coherence and credibility in fiscal reporting.