Spring Economic Update highlights Canada and the world need rural communities in order to prosper
Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne tabled a Spring Economic Update on April 28 with investments in a $25-billion sovereign wealth fund and to train skilled trades workers in order to build Canada.
The Rural Prosperity Group made the following statement in response:
Canada’s economic future depends on recognizing a simple but often overlooked reality: rural Canada is not peripheral—it is essential. The 2026 Spring Economic Update makes important strides toward nation-building, but its success will ultimately depend on whether these investments are designed with a clear and consistent lens on rural Canada.
From energy and food to critical minerals and the space required for AI infrastructure and clean technology, rural regions hold the assets that underpin national growth. Rural Canada already accounts for roughly 30 per cent of national output and drives a majority of Canada’s exports — yet its full potential remains underleveraged.
If Canada is serious about building a stronger, more competitive economy, rural communities cannot be an afterthought. This means moving beyond targeted programs and ensuring that all major policy, regulatory, and investment decisions are assessed for their rural impact from the outset.
The Spring Economic Update reflects progress in this direction. Measures such as extending Employment Insurance support for seasonal workers recognize that rural labour markets operate differently, shaped by natural cycles and regional economies. These supports sustain industries like agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and tourism, and ensure that experienced workers remain in their communities.
Similarly, continued investments in Indigenous housing across urban, rural, and northern contexts acknowledge that geography matters. Housing is foundational to workforce participation, economic inclusion and long-term prosperity — especially in rural and remote regions where gaps are most acute.
At the same time, flagship initiatives such as the Canada Strong Fund, nation-building infrastructure priorities, and investments in skilled trades present a major opportunity — but also a risk. Without a rural lens, these initiatives could unintentionally reinforce existing disparities in connectivity, infrastructure, and labour access.
Programs like Team Canada Strong and expanded apprenticeship supports have the potential to transform rural economies by addressing labour shortages and creating pathways for young people to build careers close to home. But this will only succeed if training, employers, and infrastructure are accessible in rural regions — not concentrated solely in urban centres.
Ultimately, Canada cannot achieve sustainable, inclusive growth without fully unlocking the potential of its rural communities. A “one Canadian economy” depends on bridging urban and rural realities, ensuring policies reflect the conditions on the ground, and investing in the places that produce the resources, energy, and innovation the country relies on.
We must ensure that no future federal regulation or policy — whether intentionally or inadvertently — harms rural Canada. This requires the institutional and consistent application of a rural lens at all stages of federal decision-making, ensuring that new programs or initiatives account for rural needs, challenges and opportunities.
Highlights from the Spring Economic Update
The government intends to extend Employment Insurance support for seasonal workers:
“Many sectors in Canada—agriculture, fishing industry, forestry, and tourism—rely heavily on seasonal workers due to weather, natural cycles, and fluctuating demand. Employment Insurance provides temporary income support to these workers during off-season periods when their seasonal work is unavailable, helping them maintain financial stability and remain in their communities. This support also benefits employers and regional economies by ensuring that experienced workers return each season, which helps industries operate efficiently and supports economic activity in many rural and coastal regions across Canada.”
“The Spring Economic Update 2026 announces the government's intention to extend this support for seasonal workers in the 13 targeted regions until October 2028. The cost of this measure is estimated at $356.2 million over five years, starting in 2026-27.”
To continue to advance work on an urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing strategy, the Spring Economic Update 2026 proposes to realign previous investments to better support Indigenous housing providers by reallocating $2.8 billion over five years, starting in 2026-27, to Build Canada Homes, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Indigenous Services Canada and Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada. This approach will align support for Indigenous housing within Canada's current housing landscape.
The CRA will prioritize requests for advance income tax rulings related to large-scale, nation-building projects — such as housing and infrastructure — as well as projects of national importance. Priority will also be given to advance income tax ruling requests relating to investments that enhance productivity and strengthen critical sectors of Canada's economy, including clean economy initiatives and projects that may benefit from Canada's suite of clean economy investment tax credits.
The government intends to launch a Whole-of-Government Competition Plan to ensure that competition is prioritized across the federal government's policies. The plan would seek to ensure that existing and future policies across the federal government prioritize the promotion of competition and limit to the extent possible the potential negative impacts on competition that can, often inadvertently, stem from government policies.
The government will take a comprehensive, national approach to telecom competition and drive meaningful outcomes for Canadian consumers by implementing a Telecommunications Competition Roadmap. The Roadmap includes multiple ongoing and planned government actions, including publishing roaming benchmarks, pursuing a "dig once" policy approach to nation-building projects as outlined in Budget 2025, and building on efforts to enable emerging satellite technologies. Its publication will allow Canadians to easily see results and keep track of ongoing efforts in the short term. Further information on the Roadmap will be provided in the coming months.
The government will provide $2 billion over five years, starting in 2026-27, and $262 million ongoing, to increase the number of young people who are ready to take up the challenge of a good career in the skilled trades. Team Canada Strong will provide a simple, seamless way to learn about and enter the trades, and to link up with employers. It includes:
The Team Canada Strong Program, providing youth aged 15-30 with paid, entry-level, trades-related work experience that leads into apprenticeship.
The Build Canada Apprenticeship Service, helping employers to hire, train, and retain apprentices by providing wage subsidies of up to $10,000 for their first-year salary, matching apprentices to job opportunities, and offering hands-on navigation and support.
Red Seal Program modernization, reducing certification delays and improving national consistency, including by introducing online exams, digital logbooks, and secure credentials, and by creating a single national registered apprenticeship number.
The Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP) expansion, enabling union-run training centres to upgrade facilities, expand capacity, and invest in modern equipment.
Provide $3.4 billion over five years, starting in 2026-27, and $468 million ongoing to address the challenges that can stop apprentices from completing their training and moving into permanent jobs.