2018 Fall Economic Statement

On November 21, 2018, the Honourable Bill Morneau presented the federal government's 2018 Fall Economic Statement. In the 2018 Federal Budget, the government stated that they would conduct detailed analysis of US tax reform to assess any potential impacts on Canada. In this Economic Statement, the government responded and announced measures to improve the competitiveness of the Canadian tax system as it relates to investments by Canadian businesses.

Download PDF

How does the Fall Economic Statement impact key industries? Some of our industry leaders provided insight:

Mike Gillespie, Partner, National Manufacturing Leader:
In its latest fiscal update, the federal government is responding to recent US Tax Reforms. Many of the issues being addressed are consistent with feedback provided by Canada's manufacturing community. Key among them include: allowing the full cost of machinery and equipment used in the manufacturing and processing of goods to be written off immediately for tax purposes, the introduction of the Accelerated Investment Incentive, accelerating support for business innovation by providing an additional $800M to the Strategic Innovation Fund, and removing barriers to trade within Canada.

Peter Matutat, Partner, National Technology & Life Sciences Leader:
In an attempt to increase the competitiveness of the Canadian tax system, the latest fiscal update by the federal government has provided the Technology sector with some measures to help stimulate investment. Key among them include: an injection of an additional $800M to the Strategic Innovation Fund to help companies with R&D, the Accelerated Investment Incentive, which will allow businesses of all sizes to write off a larger share of the cost of newly acquired assets in the year the investment is made. There will also be a contribution of $50M towards increasing venture capital available to cleantech companies under the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative, and removing barriers to trade within Canada.