Investors and banks back the capital gains exemption as household groups say Ottawa skipped them
Associations across Canada’s financial services industry divided over Budget 2026 in the days after Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne tabled it in the House of Commons on November 5.
Groups representing investors, entrepreneurs, banks and insurers backed its tax and competition measures. Groups speaking for small firms, households and retirees said their members were passed over.
The budget carries $142.1bn in new spending and tax measures over five years.
The Canada Growth Incentive, which pairs an exemption on up to $15m in capital gains on qualifying shares held at least 36 months with an expanded small business rollover, drew the strongest endorsement.
“The new Canada Growth Incentive, a $15m capital gains exemption and small business reinvestment rollover, is the strongest signal in a decade that risk-takers and builders at the earliest stages of growth are a national priority,” Claudio Rojas, chief executive of the National Angel Capital Organization, said in the organization’s statement.
NACO reported that in 2025, four percent of the 7,717 companies that approached reporting angel organizations were funded.
In CFIB’s release, Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly described the measure as a $15m capital gains exemption before turning to its sector exclusions.
Kelly said it “makes absolutely no sense” that a family farm, a hotel, restaurant, forestry or fishing business, engineering firm, or arts and entertainment business falls outside it.
CFIB said it will lobby to extend the incentive to every sector covered by the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption.
Kelly’s broader verdict was that “small business owners will find the 2026 budget mega disappointing.”
Tax simplification won support from CPA Canada, whose director of tax, Ryan Minor, said in the organization’s statement that “This is a very tax-focused budget, with the government acknowledging that many piecemeal rules require review.”
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce supported the same measures, naming the Productivity Mega Deduction, expanded scientific research and experimental development (SR&ED) support, the Canada Growth Incentive, and commitments to simplifying the tax system for individuals and business owners.
Executive vice president Matthew Holmes flagged the projected $62.3bn deficit and rising borrowing costs alongside that support.
Canadian Bankers Association chief executive Anthony G. Ostler told The Globe and Mail that “Expanding OSFI’s mandate to include growth and competition is an important step in balancing financial stability and economic resilience.”
The budget adds a secondary competition objective to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, sets a one-year decision timeline on applications from new financial institutions, and raises deposit insurance coverage to $250,000.
Adriana Vega, executive director of Fintechs Canada, said in the group’s statement that “Putting competition into OSFI’s mandate, opening doors for challenger banks and making fraud prevention a shared responsibility are real gains that build on last year’s progress.”
Her group’s unmet ask was eligible digital assets as qualified investments in TFSAs and RRSPs, which the budget did not address.
Stephen Frank, president and chief executive of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, backed changes to the Insurance Companies Act that broaden permitted infrastructure investments.
Frank said the changes create an opportunity to invest more in Canada.
CLHIA said its members held nearly $1.3tn in Canadian assets in 2025, with $51bn already in Canadian infrastructure.
FP Canada said the budget does not reach household financial wellbeing.
President and chief executive Tashia Batstone said in the organization’s statement that “Professional financial planning can help Canadians make informed decisions about their finances, navigate increasing uncertainty and build greater confidence in their financial futures.”
FP Canada’s August 2026 Pollara survey of more than 2,000 Canadians found 65 percent worry about retirement savings and 34 percent believe the government is helping people achieve greater financial stability.
The group continues to seek a federal financial planning grant for low- and middle-income Canadians.
Li Zhang, director of social impact at CPA Canada, told CBC News the RRSP-for-life proposal is “more of a nomenclature change,” noting an estimated 33 to 37 percent of Canadians have workplace pension access.
Jason Heath, managing director at Objective Financial Partners, told The Globe and Mail he expects the pension income credit and income splitting to extend to withdrawals under the proposed account, though the budget does not say so.
