C-17 An Act for Granting to His Majesty Certain Sums of Money for the Federal Public Administration for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2026
Short Title: Appropriation Act No. 3, 2025-26
Bill Type: House Government Bill Appropriation
Bill Sponsor: President of the Treasury Board
What This Bill Does
Parliament approved an extra $10.8 billion in spending for the 2025–26 fiscal year. This money covers costs that weren't included in the original budget — things like Indigenous services, health, defense, rail, housing and dozens of other federal departments and agencies. The funds come out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund and were authorized by the Governor General receiving Royal Assent on December 11, 2025.
WHO GAINS POWER
- Treasury Board gains authority to redirect money across departments without returning to Parliament for approval
- Ministers gain flexibility to spend beyond original budgets through compensation adjustment top-ups
- Governor in Council retains authority to approve agreements, transfers and debt write-offs without additional Parliamentary votes
WHO LOSES POWER
- Parliament — once this Bill passes, the spending is authorized; no further vote required on how individual departments use the funds
- Taxpayers have no direct mechanism to challenge how the $10.8 billion is allocated across departments
WHO GAINS MONEY
- Indigenous Services & Crown-Indigenous Relations — largest combined recipients at over $2.6 billion
- VIA Rail — $944 million for passenger rail operations and capital
- Department of Health — $1.6 billion
- Department of Citizenship and Immigration — $621 million
- Department of National Defence — $1.1 billion
- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation — $101 million
- Parks Canada — $97 million
- Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority — $107 million
WHO LOSES MONEY
- Taxpayers — $10,848,320,356 drawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund
- Three First Nations — $9.5 million in court-ordered debts formally written off (government absorbs the loss)
THE CATCH
- This is supplementary spending — money Parliament did not originally budget for this fiscal year
- Schedule 2 funds (Canada Revenue Agency — $185 million) can be spent across two fiscal years, reducing accountability to a single budget cycle
- Treasury Board can top up any department's budget for compensation adjustments — $315 million — with minimal Parliamentary oversight on how it's distributed
Source: Bill C-17 — Appropriation Act No. 3, 2025–26 Assented to: December 11, 2025