MONTREAL — Some Canadian families who had hoped the new budget would provide some relief say there are few items that will directly put money back into their pockets.
Jamillah Jean hoped for help with groceries and gas. She is a mother of two children from the West Island of Montreal.
“We might be a two-income household, but activities cost a lot, groceries cost a lot, gas costs a lot,” says Jean. “There is a definite pinch in my pocket when it comes to groceries.”
Ottawa extended a top-up to the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit that will see a couple with two children receive up to $2,570 for the year. But her family income is above the threshold established for the base year 2025 at $73,592 for a couple with two children.
“I absolutely understand we come from a place of privilege in that regard,” says Jean. “You want to be able to make sure that the benefits help people that have a lower income. And at the same time, groceries are hitting us hard. What would have cost us $800 a month just a couple of years ago, now we are over $1,000. “
She sees a disconnect between what is considered a middle-class income today and the reality of rising costs for families, and her salary has not kept pace.
Her 15-year-old daughter, Nahyma, is budget-savvy and she finds coupons to help lower the price of her lunches. But she is finding fewer deals. She and her nine-year-old, Jayha, are very active in volleyball, track and soccer. The cost of gas has driven up the price of pick-ups and drop-offs.
“We have to figure out what we are leaving the house to do,” says Jean. “We have to be really strategic in our movements in terms of how to stretch a tank of gas.”
A federal gas tax suspension that saves drivers roughly 10 cents per litre has been in place since April 20, and Jean would have liked that to continue. But the budget calls for the tax to be phased back in.
Shilpa Matade hoped there would be even more help for families coping with higher gas prices. The mother of two young girls says she often keeps the car parked to save money.
“I take it as little as possible,” she says. “Or we carpool. My friend and I, we share a car to go out for groceries.”
For a weekly fill-up for a minivan with a 70-litre tank, families saved roughly $364 a year with the tax suspension, but by April 1 it will be fully back in place.
Other measures that could impact families’ pocketbooks include a $1.5-billion investment over nine years to build, expand and renovate community recreational facilities and ice rinks across Canada. The budget also pledges free entry to Canada’s national museums for people under the age of 25.
