The federal government has released Budget 2026, with an emphasis on strengthening Canada’s economy, attracting investment and improving affordability.
Building a stronger economy is a worthy goal, but our economic strength as a nation must also be measured by whether families can afford to pay their rent, put food on the table and meet their basic needs.
Today, one in eight children in Toronto relies on a food bank, nearly double the rate in 2022, a stark indication of how many households are struggling.
Budget 2026 includes measures to address affordability, but the scale of the crisis demands greater action to ensure every family has enough to afford the basics.
In 2026, a one-time top-up to the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit gave more than 12 million Canadians a modest, temporary lift in their income. Budget 2026 repeats this one-time top-up in 2027.
While food banks have welcomed this measure, it’s important to remember that this is an increase to an existing benefit, not a new solution to Canada’s affordability crisis. Even with this support, millions of Canadians still cannot afford the necessities of life. Until we meaningfully address the inadequate incomes that are pushing people to food banks, we will continue to see more people turn to them for help.
According to the 2026 Who’s Hungry report, one in four food bank clients spend their entire income on housing costs, leaving them completely dependent on friends, family and charity to assist with food, clothing and transportation. The cost of housing is the number one driver of food insecurity in Canada, and this budget recognizes that through significant investments in off-market housing and a ten-year timeline to end homelessness, a long-time rallying cry of Daily Bread. We are thrilled to see the Reaching Home program renewed alongside new investments to achieve it.
This ambitious target is backed by a $44.7 billion, 11-year housing plan, including $17.8 billion over 10 years to tackle homelessness, and will require cooperation and coordination by all levels of government. This includes $13 billion over 10 years for Build Canada Homes to boost the supply of non-market housing.
Daily Bread has seen a tremendous increase in the number of working people between 18 and 44 who must rely on food banks. Budget 2026 proposes a reimagined Canada Workers Benefit that the government estimates will lift some 240,000 people out of poverty.
The new benefit increases eligibility through lowering the minimum earnings threshold from $3,000 to $500, and from $1,150 to $200 for the disability supplement. Daily Bread strongly supports this change: one in three food bank clients in Toronto has a disability. It also pays a little more each year: a modest but welcome boost for workers and people with disabilities who too often must rely on food banks.
Since 2025, Canada’s close economic ties with the United States have become a vulnerability. The consequences of the ongoing trade war are being felt most acutely by Canadians who were already struggling to keep up with the cost of living. We see this every day in Toronto, where 59% of food bank clients missed a rent, credit or loan payment in the past month.
Budget 2026 looks to strengthen Canada’s economic independence over the long term by expanding trade within our borders, building new global partnerships and reducing our reliance on the United States. It also introduces some immediate income supports to help ease the pressure on household budgets. These measures are welcome, but they must be considered alongside recent policy choices that have delivered disproportionately greater benefits to higher-income households. The income tax cut, for example, is worth less than $40 a year to the lowest-income households, while the gas tax holiday saves the highest-income families more than three times what it saves the lowest-income families.
The budget also makes significant investments in affordable, non-market housing, largely through capital spending. These investments are important, but the people lining up at food banks cannot wait years for the concrete to cure; families need relief now. That is why Daily Bread continues to advocate for a Canada Renters Credit: a tax rebate that would provide direct support to low-income renters. A full Canada Renters Credit for two million households would cost $4.72 billion, roughly the same as this year’s gas tax holiday or the one-time top-up to the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit.
Getting the balance right between investing in Canada’s future and ensuring people can afford to live in the country we are building is a challenge we can meet. We need to make sure that the benefits of a stronger economy reach the people who need them most.
Toronto recorded 4.1 million food bank visits for the second consecutive year. Ultimately, reducing that number will be one of the clearest measures of whether Budget 2026 has delivered a stronger Canada for everyone.
