Auditor general should check budget’s accounting changes

Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, and Minister of Finance and National Revenue Francois-Philippe Champagne hold up copies of the federal budget before it was tabled Tuesday in Ottawa. Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

In a rare plot twist, one of the most consequential matters emerging from this year’s federal budget is a technical accounting change that could reshape how we tell Canada’s fiscal story.

Budget 2025 presents Canadians with a reading of Canada’s finances through the lens of a new budgeting framework that distinguishes capital from operating spending. Done well, capital budgeting will sharpen public understanding of federal finances, strengthen fiscal discipline and promote competitiveness. Done poorly, it risks confusion, diminished credibility and, in the worst