Our Analysis 2025 Federal Budget
And what we’re going to do next
By Fae Johnstone, Executive Director
Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne introduced the 2025 federal budget, titled “Canada Strong” and framed as a “generational” budget. We tuned in with our initial reaction alongside our peers in the feminist space, but wanted to take some time to reflect and analyze before publishing a full response. Here it is.
There’s a lot to unpack - and many areas of deep concern from child care to housing to pharmacare, community mental health and beyond. We will leave many areas for our peers in feminist, social justice, queer and allied organizations to unpack, recognizing that they will have specific expertise and policy context and are best positioned to dive into the details. On our end, we will focus on 2SLGBTQIA+ specific issue areas:
Ahead of the budget, there was deep concern about potential cuts to Women and Gender Equality Canada. Many past funding commitments were sunsetting and we knew that, without new investment, dozens of 2SLGBTQIA+ and women-serving organizations would be placed in an untenable financial position: suddenly bereft of federal funding that many rely on to keep their doors open and deliver the services community members need. Imagine the damage that would be done - shuttered services, struggling organizations and community members left with less support.
To make matters worse, the government was signaling that the 2025 budget would be an austerity (cuts cuts cuts) budget and that new spending would be hard to lock down. It was going to be the perfect storm: a new PM, a new economic agenda, a desire to reduce spending, and a ton of equality funding set to run out. Not a good place to be. But we knew what was at stake, we knew what cuts would cost - to women, girls and queer people, to the progress we’ve made in the last decade, and to human and social infrastructure that Canadians depend on.
Over the summer, feminist and 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and advocates took action. We sounded the alarm, mobilized the public, engaged cabinet members, MPs and political staff, and some of us took to the media to make our concern known in both polite and pissed off fashions (guess which camp our oped fell into). Queer Momentum worked with our partners to arrange a meeting with the Minister of WAGE and we hosted a (fabulous) reception on Parliament Hill to stress our unity and underline our concern about cuts. We helped power a national campaign inclusive of a joint statement signed by over 185 partners, opposing cuts and urging continued federal leadership on queer and women's issues.
Alongside our partners, we took action - and secured an important win.
Two weeks ago, Minister Champagne and Minister Valdez hosted a pre-budget announcement to pledge that Budget 2025 would include $54.6 million over five years starting in 2026-27, with $10.9 million ongoing, to support 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. The pre-budget announcement also included an investment of $7.5 million over five years, with $1.5 million ongoing, for safety at Pride events. These commitments were made alongside $382.5 million over five years starting in 2026-27, with $76.5 million ongoing, to advance women’s equality in Canada by improving their economic security and participation in leadership roles.
The only real surprise in the WAGE funding included in Budget 2025 was a positive one: While many departments were directed to make rather steep cuts, the budget explicitly noted that WAGE wouldn’t have to make the same degree of cuts as many others - with a reduction target of only 2%.
These commitments were well-received - and we joined our partners and advocates across Canada in celebrating a much-needed win for women and queer people. These are important investments towards the elimination of discrimination and advancement of equality. But…it’s a win in context, with our expectations lowered from the outset.
What we mean by a “win in context”: Our collective advocacy secured new funds for Women and Gender Equality Canada, much of which will be channelled out to 2SLGBTQIA+ and women-serving organizations across Canada. However these investments do not halt the decline in overall WAGE funding year over year. The pie is smaller - but not as small as we were worried it would be. In essence, we’re looking at a return to 2019-2020 funding levels, before the significant funding growth seen during the peak of COVID-19.
We were hopeful there might be other, minor but laudable, commitments to WAGE in the full budget - this was not the case. We hoped we would see funding to support more LGBTQI+ refugees fleeing unsafe states. We hoped Canada would step up on international aid funding, as America steps back and wreaks havoc through deep funding cuts. That wasn’t the case. We hoped for new investments in 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs, workers and small businesses. This wasn’t the case.
We still claim this as a win - because we secured a lifeline and new investments, and this gives us a foundation to build from. It's also a win in context because we were worried we wouldn't secure any new funding, and there was a real risk we'd see the WAGE budget decline as much as 81% over the next three years.
Fae’s jaded take: “I’m proud of what our collective organizing achieved, and the damage we prevented, but I am also saddened that the bar is so low, and was set so low by this government, that we are celebrating what is in fact a cut. I am angry because this government is making ideological choices, choosing to neglect our health and social infrastructure in the name of building a stronger economy when we know that strong communities make a strong economy possible.
We've secured funding - now what?
Priority 1: Making the most of what we’ve secured. Now is our chance to make the most of the funding allocated to Women and Gender Equality Canada. If we have a smaller pie, we need to stretch every dollar - and we need the government to listen to sectoral advice to do so. Under Trudeau, funding for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities grew significantly, leading to stronger organizations and services. However, there wasn't really a plan from the government on how to invest these funds strategically to ensure lasting impact.
Now, it’s time we made some smarter decisions - and that the government works with our sector (including both national and local organizations) to set us up for long-term success.
Priority 2: Building our Power, Strengthening Our Coalition. We are concerned that Prime Minister Carney is less committed to gender equality and 2SLGBTQIA+ rights than Justin Trudeau. But Prime Ministers and government can be made to listen. That’s why we need to stay laser focused on building our movement - empowering volunteers, changing hearts and minds, and making a strong public case for further investment and leadership on these critical issues.
We rallied, and we prevented an immediate funding crisis. We need to be ready to do so again - but more than that, we need to secure the support and power necessary to raise the bar and ensure Canada is a global leader on equality and human rights.
Priority 3: Speaking up in Solidarity. The future of pharmacare and childcare is in doubt, following budget 2025. Carney’s housing plan is underwhelming, and has little detail on how it’ll tackle the gendered nature of the housing crisis. The cuts to the public service workforce will come at a cost to the services Canadians - especially vulnerable Canadians - rely on, as will the overall austerity apporach, and the cuts to international aid are a staggering abandonment of Canada’s legacy of global leadership.
Now, let's celebrate the win we helped secure, and continue organizing on the many areas of deep concern, all with one goal in mind: building a Canada that works for everyone - for queer people, workers, newcomers and the rest of us.