Federal budget could boost local health, housing and border services

With big promises on major national projects, a massive boost to the military and cuts to departments that remain somewhat vague, the federal government’s fall 2025 budget will have direct and indirect impacts on Canadians across the board.

However, within the large plan are a few areas that may be of specific interest to Fort Erie.

HEALTH CARE

As the town continues to grapple with the future of the Douglas Memorial site and local health care services in general, the budget offers up some tidbits that could help Fort Erie keep vital services here.

The governing Liberals announced a $5 billion Health Infrastructure Fund. The three-year fund will start in 2026-2027, and will “complement existing health-related support provided to provinces and territories by helping to ensure their health infrastructure, such as hospitals, emergency rooms, urgent care centres, and medical schools, will be able to respond to the health care needs of Canadians.”

Fort Erie’s work to preserve services at Douglas Memorial seems to coincide with that, and Mayor Wayne Redekop told Fort Erie Radio he’s hopeful they’ll be able to apply for funding if and when it comes time.

“We know that the reimagining Douglas Memorial proposal will require retrofits,” he said.

This, coupled with a shift in accounting that will see the government work to balance its operating budget in three years, while allowing deficit spending spending for capital projects, could mean changes to how provinces and municipalities receive federal dollars for health care.

In an analysis of the budget, Executive Vice-President of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy Sahir Khan told CBC’s Aaron Wherry provinces are “probably going to have better luck if you bring [a request for] a hospital or a long-term care facility.”

However, a second fund being created could also help with recruitment efforts. The Foreign Credential Recognition Action Fund, which was announced ahead of the actual budget, offers up $97 million over five years, beginning in 2026, to Employment and Social Development Canada.

The goal is to “work with the provinces and territories to improve the fairness, transparency, timeliness, and consistency of foreign credential recognition, with a focus on health and construction sectors.”

“Many newcomers to Canada already have extensive training in sectors where we are experiencing labour shortages, including doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals. However, many face challenges in getting their training and experience recognized in Canada,” the budget document reads.

HOUSING

As Fort Erie continues to focus on housing, especially affordable housing, the federal government has likewise put the issue at the top of its priority list. Those efforts are being led by a new agency called Build Canada Homes, which “will focus primarily on non-market housing, supporting a mix of income needs as part of a national effort to double housing construction, restore affordability, and reduce homelessness.”

One of its three pillars calls for the federal government to “partner with industry, other orders of government, and Indigenous communities to build affordable housing, including co-op housing, at scale and at speed.”

Fort Erie has made the construction of affordable housing a priority, creating a new affordable housing community improvement plan earlier this year.

The federal agency was announced back in September. The budget says the initial federal investment will be $13 billion over five years.

“It’s a program we might be able to tap into,” Redekop said in an interview.

BORDER

With the Peace Bridge offering a constant reminder of Fort Erie’s role as a major border town, the budget includes a few items of interest.

The budget includes $617.7 million over five years “to increase its capacity to detect and intercept illicit goods, and defend Canadian industries by enforcing import measures and bolstering its trade remedy capacity.”

It will also increase the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)’s recruit stipend to $525 a week, up from $125 a week. The agency’s early retirement program will also be extended to frontline CBSA officers and other eligible frontline employee groups in the Public Service Pension Plan, “so that they can receive pension benefits that reflect the weight of their responsibilities.”

These were both announced earlier this fall, but are on top of the $1.3 billion border security package announced last December. Together, the budget document said this funding will allow CBSA to hire 1,000 new officers.

ECONOMIC TRANSITION

As Canada continues to deal with the headwinds of a trade war with the United States, the budget went heavy on major projects to boost Canada’s economy for the future, while protecting those currently being affected.

Redekop said it’s a tough balance for the federal government to chart an ambitious long-term plan while also supporting people in the short term, many who are feeling the pinch right now.

“People have been weathering significant turbulence because of tariffs,” he said.

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