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Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, left, puts on new a pair of Pajar shoes alongside owner Jacques Golbert during a tour of the shoe factory ahead of the release of Thursday's federal budget in Montreal, on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Budget 2026 is about giving Canada a ‘strong footing’: Champagne

Nov 4, 2026 | 10:56 AM

MONTREAL — Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says Thursday’s federal budget is about giving Canada a “strong footing” to navigate a more volatile world.

The Liberal government’s 2026 budget is set to land a little over a day after voters delivered a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump and the Republicans in the U.S. midterm elections.

Asked how impending Democratic control of Congress might affect Canada’s trade bargaining position with the Trump administration, Champagne said the upcoming fiscal plan is about giving Canada leverage at many negotiating tables.

He said the government is trying to make Canada more resilient to global shocks, whether they come from the United States or anywhere else in the world.

The finance minister also said running deficits to support workers affected by U.S. trade aggression is “the right thing to do.”

Champagne was in Montreal today to get a new pair of shoes before tabling the budget — a long-standing tradition for finance ministers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2026.

— written by Craig Lord in Ottawa with files from Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman in Montreal

The Canadian Press