PEIOttawa is pitching massive investments in infrastructure, housing, the military and tax changes to spur business development — but how will the Liberals’ so-called “generational” budget be felt on Prince Edward Island?Here are a few things in Ottawa’s new budget that might affect IslandersRyan McKellop · CBC News · Posted: Nov 04, 2025 7:16 PM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesFinance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne shakes hands with Prime Minister Mark Carney after delivering his budget speech in the House of Commons, in Ottawa, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick (The Canadian Press)Prime Minister Mark Carney and François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s finance minister, presented their first federal budget Tuesday. Ottawa is pitching massive investments in infrastructure, housing, the military and tax changes to spur business development in a slowing economy that’s grappling with trade uncertainty. But how will the Liberals’ so-called “generational” budget be felt on Prince Edward Island?Here are three key takeaways. Infrastructure investmentsSince campaigning in the Liberal leadership race earlier this year, Carney has promised to build projects with speed in Canada. His marquee policy, the Major Projects Office, is already up and running.$51 billion is being invested into building local infrastructure, such as roads and housing over the next decade as part of the 2025 federal budget. (Ken Linton/CBC)Tuesday’s budget includes $51 billion over 10 years for local infrastructure such as housing, roads, water/wastewater and health facilities. The government said this will create thousands of jobs. P.E.I.’s last infrastructure funding agreement with Ottawa included roughly $200 million over a 10-year period from the federal government’s Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program and New Building Canada Fund. That funding is set to end in the next two to three years — and until Tuesday’s budget, no replacement fund had been set up to give reassurance to long-term planners. P.E.I.’s capital budget, which the province also delivered Tuesday, invests heavily into public infrastructure as well, including $700,000 for a new Access P.E.I. site in Stratford by 2030-31, along with million in funding to build new schools.Building housingBuilding affordable housing is part of the 2025 federal budget, which has put $51 billion into local infrastructure. (Laura Meader/CBC)The federal government is investing heavily into building housing across the country over the next decade. The budget includes previously announced plans to dramatically scale up home construction through a new federal agency called Build Canada Homes. With an initial $13-billion investment over five years, the government is projecting tens of thousands of units will be built by prioritizing what it calls “innovative, factory-built housing” and other affordable homes. P.E.I. has also set aside millions for upgrades to existing housing and to build more affordable units in a province gripped by a housing crisis since at least 2019. The province’s capital budget includes $28 million toward upgrades and repairs to existing public housing, and $100 million over the next five years will be used to build more than 300 new affordable housing units. Last year, P.E.I. saw a record number of affordable housing starts with nearly 1,700 units. So far this year, the number of new units sits around 1,400.Immigration cutsSelling it as Ottawa “taking back control” over an immigration system that has put pressure on Canada’s housing supply and health-care system, budget 2025 promises to lower admission targets.The new plan proposes to drastically reduce the target for new temporary resident admissions from 673,650 in 2025 to 385,000 in 2026.The 2026-28 immigration levels plan would keep permanent resident admission targets at 380,000 per year, down from 395,000 in 2025.Federal cuts to immigration levels earlier this year have already impacted P.E.I. (Alex Skopje/Getty Images)Federal cuts to immigration earlier this year led to a decline in enrolment at post-secondary institutions on P.E.I. like Holland College, which projected a $4-million loss in tuition revenue. Many businesses are also struggling with the effects of the cuts, with some owners saying they’ve lost employees to other provinces. To fill labour gaps, the federal Liberals’ plan includes a foreign credential recognition action fund to work with the provinces and territories to improve transparency, timeliness and consistency of foreign credential recognition. It would also launch a strategy to attract international talent, including a one-time initiative to recruit over 1,000 highly qualified international researchers to Canada. ABOUT THE AUTHORRyan McKellop is a graduate of the Holland College journalism program and is working as an Associate Producer and Web Writer. Got a story idea? Email ryan.mckellop@cbc.ca
Here are 3 federal budget highlights that could impact P.E.I.
