2005 Canadian federal budget
The 2005 Canadian federal budget was the budget of the Government of Canada for the 2005–2006 fiscal year. It was presented on February 23, 2005, by Finance Minister Ralph Goodale. It was the first Canadian federal budget presented by a minority government since the budget of the Joe Clark Progressive Conservative government in 1979, which was defeated by the opposition parties.
| Presented | February 23, 2005 |
|---|---|
| Passed | June 28, 2005 |
| Parliament | 38th |
| Party | Liberal |
| Finance minister | Ralph Goodale |
| Total revenue | C$222.2 billion |
| Total expenditures | C$209 billion |
| Program Spending | C$175.2 billion |
| Debt payment | C$33.8 billion |
| Surplus | C$13.2 billion‡ |
| Debt | C$481.5 billion |
| Website | The Budget Plan 2005 |
| ‡Surplus was used to pay down federal debt.
‹ 2004 2006 › | |
Having fewer than half the seats in the House of Commons of Canada meant that the governing Liberal Party of Canada had to win the support of members of other parties for the 2005 budget to pass. Without that support, the budget would have been defeated, and new elections would likely have been called.
In the 2005–06 fiscal year, the government had a large surplus of expected revenues over expenses, making the government able to fund a wide array of new initiatives. The budget bill (C-43) received Royal Assent on June 28, 2005. In order to gain the necessary support of the New Democratic Party (NDP) the budget was amended (Bill C-48) and given assent three weeks later following considerable debate.