At a time when all are still digesting the impact of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first federal budget, it’s time to reflect on what a budget might look like if the interests of regular folks, like you and me, were actually prioritized.
What would a budget look like if it were not feeding the profit margins of the military industrial complex through billions in defence spending?
What would a budget look like if governments were not purposely underfunding and sabotaging universal health care and actually paving the way for private corporations to take over the public system?
What would a budget look like if it ensured that the less fortunate actually had a living wage? Or if full employment were actually a doable target and not a forgotten phrase of decades gone by? And what if seniors had decent pensions? And what If universities were fully-funded and tuition free to those interested in studying… And what if the goal of a budget were to increase the number of family farmers across the country rather than facilitating the corporate concentration of the land base through speculative investors such as pension funds and others?
…And what if the federal budget recognized that on a small planet the plight of our international neighbours eventually becomes the plight of our local neighbourhoods if we do not support and share in funding international development goals…
… so many what ifs…
Enter the Alternative Federal Budget (AFB) – a reflective budget which has grown through the engagement of hundreds of people and organizations since its inception in 1994. Several organizations have been reporting on aspects of the Alternative Federal Budget since its release in October, including trade unions, peace organizations, health organizations and more.
As for the Carney budget, it has also been covered by many columns related to the environment, military spending, and its impact on issues such as pay equity, and more. There is also concern over regulatory changes hidden within the budget’s small print in annexed documents outlining legislative changes – for example, eliminating cyclical reviews of pesticides.
While the Carney budget barely passed the recent House of Commons vote, there is no time like the present to revisit the AFB and the policy alternatives and explanations it provides. Might we see some of these proposals in action one day? We can only hope… but first it is important to understand the proposals it details.
Reviewing the history of the AFB and how it came about is important, I think, particularly in light of the recent Carney budget. The AFB process, based on cooperation, is really how budgets should be created – unlike the total lack of collaboration which created the Carney budget.
I remember sitting around a large conference table in the fall of 1995 when I worked with the Canadian Labour Congress, and Bruce Campbell (former executive director of the CCPA) and colleagues from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) came by to discuss the preparation of the AFB for 1996. The CCPA was just beginning to meet with trade unions, community and civic groups, non-profit organizations, progressive farm groups, to build a better budget, an alternative to the destructive federal budgets we still see.
More than 20 years on, those reflections, conversations, and budget line items have become more important than ever. The AFB is a plain language, action oriented budget geared to build community for each of us. Would that the current federal budget be as good as the Alternative Federal Budget!!
The Alternative Federal Budget 2026 – “Building True Canadian Sovereignty” notes in its introduction:
“The AFB is a “what if” exercise. It demonstrates in a concrete and compelling way that a better Canada is truly possible… In times of growing uncertainty—when global political dynamics shift, economies crash, and anxieties worsen—the Alternative Federal Budget (AFB) is an endeavour into what is possible when the public good is at the heart of budgetary planning. It is a unique Canadian collaboration rooted in social justice values—like human dignity and freedom, fairness, equality, solidarity, environmental sustainability, and well-being—and a strong belief in the power of participatory democracy.”
The 233-page document includes detailed, yet concise explanations of how each budget category will be actioned, complete with the dollars assigned to each initiative. The document includes 27 categories ranging from Affordable Housing, Agriculture, AI (Artificial Intelligence), right through to Defence, First Nations, Environment and Climate Change, Healthcare through to Seniors and Long-term care, Incarceration and more.
Each section of the Alternative Federal Budget is an education in itself. Readers should appreciate the brief summary notes at the beginning of the document, and each individual section.
Agriculture
This section includes insightful detail necessary to building a resilient farm community. The AFB outlines a number of very important food initiatives that would support access to land, access to healthy food, and that would protect primary agricultural land from urban and commercial development. It also advances ideas on how to curb speculative investment in farmland by corporations, pension investment funds, and foreign investors.
The AFB calls for several measures to ensure family farm producers receive fair value for their production, and that in turn communities have access to local food sources.
The policy proposals also recognize how, more than any other sector, agriculture and climate change, intersect and so the AFB underscores the need for mitigation and adaptation specific to this sector.
The AFB emphasizes how free trade agreements have created dependence on the United States for food and how the situation to disentangle the country from the US economy is urgent and key to Canadian food security.
Access to land for small farmers and fair prices for their production is also addressed.
Loss of the Canadian Wheat Board in 2012 has meant that rural western Canada has had billions of dollars siphoned out of its communities. The AFB calls for reinstatement of an agency similar to the Canadian Wheat Board that would regulate the sale of all grains destined for export. It also calls for an expansion of supply management for pork and beef.
Land speculation is called out as another major contributor to the $20 billion increase in farm debt since 2023. Several policies would protect prime farm land in peri-urban areas and enable rent or lease options for small farmers. As well, the AFB would enable registration of farm ownership to show transparency when corporations are investing in farm land, and would remove current corporate tax incentives that encourage this speculation.
There is much to learn about in the section on agriculture.
Defence
This section really puts the lie to the numbers and direction taken in the Carney budget.
For one the AFB challenges increasing the defence budget from two per cent to five per cent of GDP as an “eye watering” boost. It also explains why measuring defence spending as a percentage of GDP as NATO supports, is not accurate, and states that defence spending should be based on real dollars. And it clearly explains how the Canadian public has been misled on where Canada ranks in spending as compared to other countries. That is an eyeopener that underscores all the double speak on this issue.
Take note:
“Despite being labelled a “laggard” in military spending, Canada ranks as the seventh largest defence spender among NATO’s 32 member countries for 2024-25, outspending the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Norway. Globally, Canada ranks 16th in the world for military expenditures, outpacing other similar or larger developed nations. While the narrative persists that Canada is falling short on defence, we spend much more on defence than many realize.”
The section of the AFB includes solid recommendations on how procurement should occur, includes and explains a proposed evidence-to-decision statement regarding transparency in all defence spending, reinforces and couples climate change and Arctic security.
Of particular note:
The AFB will provide $2.5-$3 billion toward dual-use domain awareness capabilities that serve both security and climate/environmental needs, and underscores in detail why the “Golden Dome” participation would undermine the credibility of Canada’s long-standing commitment to nuclear disarmament – not to mention estimated costs of up to US$542 billion.
The AFB will allocate $1 billion over five years to scale up Canada’s peace operations, with targeted support for personnel, training, and deployment readiness. This investment will strengthen Canada’s capacity to contribute meaningfully to United Nations peacekeeping missions and other multilateral operations, with an emphasis on conflict prevention, protection of civilians, and gender-responsive approaches.
The AFB will keep Canadian defence dollars focused on real safety by capping the NORAD modernization program and refuse any spending on the “Golden Dome” and its unrealistic ambitions, especially its proposed space-based missile interceptors.
There is indeed a lot to reflect on in the 2026 Alternative Federal Budget. What is included here is just a beginning.
In no particular order, there is a section on veterans and improved services; affordable housing; seniors and long-term care; international cooperation; international trade; and much more.
The Alternative Federal Budget is about more than building true Canadian sovereignty, it is also about how to go about building a better world!
Support rabble today!
We’re so glad you stopped by! Thanks for consuming rabble content this year.
rabble.ca is 100% reader and donor funded, so as an avid reader of our content, we hope you will consider gifting rabble with a donation during our summer fundraiser today.
Nick Seebruch, editor
Whether it be a one-time donation or a small monthly contribution, your support is critical to keep rabble writers producing the work you’ve come to rely on as a part of a healthy media diet.
Become a rabble rouser — donate to rabble.ca today.
Nick Seebruch, editor
