Federal Budget 2024: Ottawa targets capital gains for billions in new revenue [Video]

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released a federal budget that raises more than $20-billion in new revenue over five years, primarily through changes to Canada’s capital-gains rules, in an effort to have wealthy Canadians and corporations help offset the cost of billions in new spending.

As previously signalled by the government, housing, defence and technology research all receive significant funding in the budget, which lays out about $53-billion in new spending over five years.

In a break from past practice, Ms. Freeland and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced most of the budget’s key planks earlier this month in a series of cross-country news conferences. The unanswered question heading into budget day was how the government planned to pay for it all.

The budget doesn’t make any changes to income tax rates, nor does it include an explicit wealth tax. Instead, the tax hikes are focused on capital gains.

“Today it is possible for a carpenter or a nurse to …