PwC, Equinix and Xero weigh in on Liberal's Budget 2025
The release of the Canadian federal budget for 2025 has sparked discussion among business leaders and policy experts regarding its proposals for consumer-driven banking, AI infrastructure, and fiscal strategy.
Banking and business reforms
Xero's Chief Executive Officer, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, also commented positively on the announcement. Cassidy emphasised that a clear framework and accelerated timeline for consumer-driven banking represented much-needed momentum for Canadian small businesses and their advisers. She believes the initiative will facilitate better access to capital and digital tools, enabling company owners to focus on running their businesses.
"I am thrilled to applaud Minister François-Philippe Champagne and the Canadian federal government for today's decisive announcement on consumer-driven banking," she said to TechDay Canada in a statement. "This is incredible momentum. A clear framework with an accelerated implementation is the massive win Canadian small businesses needed. It will unlock better access to capital and tools, driving efficiency and letting entrepreneurs focus on what they do best: running their business."
Mikaela McQuade, Economics and Policy at PwC Canada, observed that the budget took a familiar approach in response to economic uncertainty, opting for targeted fiscal expansion over austerity and broad deregulation.
"That's not to say there wasn't a clear push towards spending restraint: Ottawa's message today is that every borrowed dollar now needs to do double duty to build capacity and buy credibility," said McQuade. "With this budget the Carney government attempting to strike a deliberate balance between spending ambitiously on investments in Canada's evolving economic future and creating a framework that tries to keep markets - and Canadians - comfortable about the debt path of the country."
Energy and digital infrastructure
Attention also turned to other budget measures, particularly those relating to Canada's energy infrastructure and the digital sector. Marc Mondesir, Managing Director at Equinix Canada, commented on the government's plan to boost energy supply by modernising electrical grids and investing in renewable energy sources. He pointed to the "substantial increase in energy supply" as a necessary foundation for both economic growth and the support of emerging technologies such as AI.
"The federal budget announcement highlights the need for a substantial increase in energy supply to support Canada's growing population and economy, emphasizing the modernization of electrical grids and the expansion of investments in modern sources of energy. This is a great start as these initiatives aim to attract significant new investments, enabling infrastructure upgrades and energy storage," said Mondesir.
He also noted that the proposed allocation of CAD $925.6 million over five years towards large-scale, sovereign public AI infrastructure, including a Sovereign Canadian Cloud, was indicative of Canada's ambition to develop a resilient digital backbone. Mondesir argued that synchronising modernised energy supplies with AI development is vital for job creation and sustainable economic progress.
Chris Mar, AI, Tech and Data Markets Leader at PwC Canada, highlighted the budget's expanded investment in AI and quantum infrastructure, but questioned whether it would fully realise Canada's digital transformation potential. Mar pointed to the need for extensive cross-industry collaboration to unlock the long-term economic potential of these technologies, estimating a potential CAD $310 billion impact on national GDP by 2035.
