Budget 2026: the smaller measures most summaries skip

What changes for borrowing to build rental housing?

Large corporate groups face a limit on how much interest and financing expense they can deduct, called the excessive interest and financing expenses limitation (EIFEL). It applies to tax years starting on or after 1 October 2023. Two exceptions were proposed earlier and aren't law yet: one for interest incurred before 2036 on money borrowed to build, buy or convert purpose-built rental housing in Canada, and one for regulated energy utilities.

Today those proposed exceptions only work if the company that borrows the money uses it directly. Budget 2026 proposes to widen them:

• Group borrowing: the exception would apply when one company borrows and another corporation, trust or partnership in the same affiliated group builds or runs the rental housing or utility.
• Partnerships: it would also apply when the project is held in a partnership in which the borrower and its affiliates own at least 40%.
• Utilities: "regulated energy utility" would also cover businesses whose prices are set, approved or backed by government (including sales to Crown corporations), or set through a government-run market.

These would apply back to tax years beginning on or after 1 October 2023. Most small owner-managed businesses are outside EIFEL altogether: Canadian-controlled private corporations with less than $50 million of taxable capital employed in Canada (with their associated corporations) are excluded, and so are groups with $1 million or less of net interest and financing expenses. It matters most to larger developers who finance projects through a central company or a joint venture. Our real estate page covers the everyday side of rental property.

What happens to flow-through mining credits?

Flow-through shares let junior mining companies pass their exploration spending to investors. Investors can claim a 15% Mineral Exploration Tax Credit, or a 30% Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for qualifying critical minerals. Both were due to end with agreements signed after 31 March 2027.

Flow-through shares are an investment product with their own risks, and a licensed adviser explains whether they suit you. We report the credit and the deductions on your return from the slips you receive.

What changes for private foundations?

Today a private foundation, together with related people, can't hold more than 20% of any class of a corporation's shares. It has to track and report those holdings every year and sell any excess. Budget 2026 proposes to remove this excess corporate holdings regime and instead apply the rule that already stops public foundations from acquiring control of a corporation. It would apply to tax years beginning on or after 1 January 2027.

For families who hold shares of the family company through a private foundation, this could mean less tracking but a different test to plan around. Charity and corporate law are involved, so this is general information, not legal advice; we work alongside your lawyer on any change to a foundation's holdings.

What changes for trusts and pension plans?

What changes for fuel, cannabis and spirits businesses?

• Fuel: federal excise tax on gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel is meant to apply once in the supply chain, but dated licence rules sometimes made it apply twice. More fuel resellers could get a wholesaler licence (from the first day of the month after royal assent). Licensed manufacturers could buy or import fuel for resale without triggering the tax (from the day after Budget Day). A one-time payment would be available for some past double tax between 2017 and Budget Day, applied for within two years of royal assent.
• Cannabis: a common excise stamp for provinces and territories with the same duty rate, including British Columbia, usable from 1 January 2028; province-specific stamps phase out in those places by 30 June 2029 for producers. Alberta has a different rate adjustment, so its stamp stays unless it opts in by 31 January 2027. New penalties apply from royal assent.
• Spirits: excise warehouses that hold non-duty-paid packaged spirits would have to post security of $5,000 to $2 million per licence, based on monthly duty, for licences issued from royal assent.

What changes for banks, insurers and reporting rules?

• GST/HST input tax credit methods: large financial institutions could ask for approval of their GST/HST allocation methods for three years at a time instead of one, for fiscal years beginning after 30 June 2027.
• International reporting: penalties would clearly apply under the Common Reporting Standard, the digital platform reporting rules and the crypto-asset reporting rules, for example for not getting or checking a self-certification or not keeping records.
• Higher fixed penalties: most fixed-dollar penalties rise with inflation and scale up for medium and large corporations; see Budget 2026 for business.

Which earlier proposals does Budget 2026 confirm?

The budget says the government will go ahead with these, with any changes from consultation. None is law yet unless Parliament has passed it.

Does any of this matter in BC or Alberta?

For most people and small businesses in either province, no: the measures here are for larger groups, investors, foundations and specific industries. The exceptions are rental housing developers who borrow through a group or joint venture, investors in BC and Alberta mining and exploration companies, families with private foundations or trusts with non-resident beneficiaries, and fuel, cannabis or spirits businesses. The changes that reach most people, such as the May 15 deadline and the higher instalment threshold, are in our individuals and business articles.

This article is general information for people and businesses in BC and Alberta, checked against the Budget 2026 documents on 6 Nov 2026. Budget measures are proposals until passed into law, and details can change; it isn't tax or legal advice for your situation.