Michael McLeod

MP McLeod: Budget 2023 Supports Northerners’ Priorities

Yesterday in the House of Commons, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled Budget 2023— A Made-in-Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future. This budget is focused on delivering new targeted inflation relief, strengthening our universal public health care system, and investing in building a clean economy and creating good jobs across Canada.
The Member of Parliament for Northwest Territories, Michael McLeod, was pleased to see several items in Budget 2023 that will improve the lives of Northerners.
“With focused investments such as $4 billion for a co-developed Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy and $6.9 billion for Northern Abandoned Mine Reclamation, this budget directly addresses some of our territory’s top priorities,” said McLeod.
Budget 2023 featured additional measures that will benefit Indigenous and northern communities, including $3 billion to support critical clean energy priorities and Indigenous-led projects, $810.6 million to support Non-Insured Health Benefits medical services and travel, and $44 million to renew CanNor’s IDEANorth program.
Other highlights include:

A Grocery Rebate to provide 10,000 lower and modest income NWTers. Couples with two children can receive up to an extra $467, and single NWTers can receive up to an extra $234.
$13 billion to implement the Canadian Dental Care Plan, which will provide coverage for uninsured Canadian families with incomes of less than $90,000.
$650 million for monitoring, assessment, and restoration work in the Mackenzie River and other waterbodies across Canada.
$158.4 million to create and operate a 9-8-8 Suicide Prevention Line.
$108 million to support local tourism projects and events across Canada.

On the economic outlook, Canada led the G7 in economic growth last year, and will maintain the lowest deficit and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. Our national and local jobs numbers remain strong as well. Canada’s unemployment rate is near its record low with 830,000 more Canadians employed than before the pandemic. Supported by our Canada-wide system of affordable early learning and child care, the labour force participation rate for women aged 25 to 54 reached a record high of 85.7 per cent in February. Here in the NWT, our latest unemployment rate of 4.9% is the lowest figure for the month of February in over a decade, and we continue to have the highest seasonally unadjusted employment rate of any province or territory at 68.2%.

Contact
Office of Michael McLeod, M.P.
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