OTTAWA - Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne on Monday unveiled major changes to how and when the Liberal government will introduce federal budgets in the future as the focus on Ottawa's current fiscal path intensifies.

Champagne announced the Liberal government plans to table the federal budget in the fall going forward, ending the long-standing practice of releasing the document in the spring.

The upcoming Nov. 4 budget will be the first tabled on the new schedule. The typically shorter economic and fiscal updates will now come in the spring, closer to the start of the fiscal year on April 1.

Questioned by reporters Monday, Champagne argued this shift will offer the "clarity" departments, businesses and policy-makers need to plan better for upcoming fiscal years.

The budget

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