Prime Minister Mark Carney’s second federal budget allocates tens of billions of dollars in new spending to tackle improving affordability in an era of high prices and securing Canada’s sovereignty as it faces external threats. The budget’s new big-ticket items include generous tax measures designed to prompt an “investment supercycle,” increased GST rebates to help with the cost of living, an $11.2-billion cash injection to tackle homelessness and one of the largest investments in Canadian arts, culture and identity in recent history. Buoyed by a spike in oil prices that delivered a financial windfall for Ottawa, the budget calls for about $142 billion more in spending over the next five years. All of that is more than offset by increased revenue — about $158.3 billion more over the next half-decade — from the oil and gas boom. However, Ottawa is still projecting deficits for the foreseeable future. The government’s preferred fiscal anchor, the deficit-to-GDP ratio, is on a downward trajectory. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne claims this shows the government is fiscally prudent. “The moment is serious. Canadians know it. Our new government knows it. The moment demands an ambitious plan to be masters of our destiny,” Champagne said. Still, the budget reveals that the combination of increased spending and higher interest rates will spike public debt charges. Could Carney’s 2nd budget lower Canadian household bills? No, the new spending is one-time relief and investment measures, not immediate price cuts on groceries or fuel.