Volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers play a critical role in protecting Canadians. Every year thousands of Canadians volunteer their time, and sacrifice their own safety, to keep their neighbours safe. Whether responding to flooding in Nova Scotia or wildfires in British Columbia, these volunteers continue to go above and beyond to help with firefighting and search and rescue.
In recognition of this, today the federal government announced that Budget 2024 will propose to double the Volunteer Firefighters Tax Credit and the Search and Rescue Volunteers Tax Credit.
This means the tax credit will increase from $3,000 to $6,000 for 2024 and subsequent tax years, saving volunteer firefighters up to $900 per year. This increase will particularly benefit rural communities where firefighters are most often volunteers and they are confronting increasingly more frequent wildfires due to climate change. Over the next six years, this represents about $105 million in new support for volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers across the country.
Today’s announcement also includes $166.2 million over five years in new funding in support of First Nations emergency management and preparedness. Recognizing that many First Nations communities are especially vulnerable to the impact of natural disasters, this investment will better support First Nations to protect their communities.
These investments will help ensure that our essential first responder volunteers are better supported in the selfless work they do to keep all of us safe. Alongside these measures, in the upcoming budget, the government will announce further action to build more homes, faster, make life more affordable, and create more good jobs and economic growth to ensure every generation can get ahead.
Quotes
“Volunteer firefighters keep Canadians safe, while putting their own lives at risk. As wildfires and natural disasters grow more severe, these volunteers remain some of the only first responders in their community. The Volunteer Firefighters Tax Credit and the Search and Rescue Volunteers Tax Credit are there to support the service of remarkable Canadians and encourage more people to do this critical, lifesaving work.”
“The 2023 Wildfire Season was instructive – it showed us what the world will be like if we fail to tackle climate change and prepare for increasingly intense burn seasons. The immediate priority of any government is to protect lives and livelihoods – and increasingly that starts with recognizing the scientific reality of climate change and investing in measures to mitigate and adapt our changing climate. That is why the federal government has been working hard to train more firefighters, provide more lifesaving equipment, and partner with provinces and territories in anticipation for the 2024 wildfire season and fire seasons to come.”
"Canadians from coast to coast to coast have felt the increasing impacts of intense wildfires due to the changing climate. These emergencies, which threaten our communities, livelihoods and environment, are met by extraordinary individuals who volunteer as firefighters and search and rescue personnel. There is no braver person than one who is willing to sacrifice their own life for another. Our federal government recognizes this essential community service through the Volunteer Firefighters and Search and Rescue Volunteers Tax Credits.”
“Today’s announcement marks another big step forward as we implement Canada’s first National Adaptation Strategy. We are committed to protecting communities, our economy and our natural environment from the costly impacts of climate change. While we work to reduce the carbon emissions that are driving climate change, we are also safeguarding Canadians from immediate climate impacts, such as more intense and costly wildfires.”
“First Nations communities and their traditional lands are experiencing firsthand the impacts of climate change. They are disproportionally affected, with 80% of communities at risk of wildfire. First Nations know best what they need to manage wildfires, and today’s announcement incorporates their traditional knowledge while building their capacity in a self-determinate way. Our message is clear: we will be at First Nations’ side and support their efforts both before, during, and after the wildfire season.”
Quick Facts
- The Government of Canada’s Budget 2024 will be tabled in the House of Commons by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
- In recent weeks, the Prime Minister has announced that Budget 2024 would also:
- Invest $2 billion to build and provide access to computing capabilities and technological infrastructure for Canada’s world-leading AI researchers, start-ups, and scale-ups.
- Boost AI start-ups to bring new technologies to market, and accelerate AI adoption in critical sectors, such as agriculture, clean technology, health care, and manufacturing, with $200 million in support through Canada’s Regional Development Agencies.
- Invest $100 million in the NRC IRAP AI Assist Program to help small and medium-sized businesses scale up and increase productivity by building and deploying new AI solutions.
- Support workers who may be impacted by AI, such as creative industries, with $50 million for the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program, which will provide new skills training for workers in potentially disrupted sectors and communities.
- Create a new Canadian AI Safety Institute, with $50 million to further the safe development and deployment of AI.
- Strengthen enforcement of the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act, with $5.1 million for the Office of the AI and Data Commissioner.
- Launch a new $50 million Homebuilding Technology and Innovation Fund that will seek to leverage an additional $150 million from the private sector and other orders of government to support the scale-up, commercialization, and adoption of innovative housing technologies and materials, including for modular and prefabricated homes.
- Deliver $50 million to modernize and expedite home building through the regional development agencies. This builds on the success of dozens of existing innovative projects already funded and underway in communities across the country, including those modernizing building practices through modular housing, mass timber construction, robotics, 3D printing, and automation.
- Deliver $500 million to support rental housing. With low-cost financing through the Apartment Construction Loan Program, this will support new rental housing projects using innovative construction techniques from prefabricated and modular housing manufacturers as well as other homebuilders.
- Launch a modernized Housing Design Catalogue to standardize up to 50 efficient, cost-effective, and liveable home blueprints. With $11.6 million in Budget 2024, this will include frames for modular homes, row housing, and fourplexes.
- Launch a new $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund that will provide $1 billion in loans and $470 million in contributions to non-profit organizations and other partners so they can acquire units and preserve rent prices in the long term.
- Deliver a $15 billion top-up to the Apartment Construction Loan Program to build a minimum of 30,000 new apartments. With this top-up, the program’s financing is on track to build over 131,000 new apartments within the next decade.
- Announce new reforms to the Apartment Construction Loan Program to increase access to the program and make it easier for builders to build.
- Launch Canada Builds—partnering with provinces and territories to build more rental housing across the country. The federal government is leveraging its $55 billion Apartment Construction Loan Program by making it available to support partnerships with provinces and territories that launch their own ambitious housing plans, similar to the recently announced BC Builds initiative.
- Top-up the Housing Accelerator Fund with an additional $400 million, so more municipalities can cut red tape, fast-track home construction, and invest in affordable housing. Since launching the now $4.4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund last year, the federal government has signed 179 agreements across the country to fast-track more than 750,000 homes over the next decade. This $400 million top-up will fast-track an additional 12,000 new homes in the next three years.
- Launch a new $6 billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to accelerate the construction and upgrading of critical housing infrastructure. This includes water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste infrastructure to support the construction of more homes.
- Restore generational fairness for renters, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, by taking new action to protect renters’ rights and unlock pathways for them to become homeowners.
- Save more young families money and help more moms return to their careers by building more affordable child care spaces and training more early childhood educators across Canada.
- Create a National School Food Program to ensure children have the best start in life, with the food they need to learn and grow, no matter their circumstances.
- Invest $500 million for a new Youth Mental Health Fund to help younger Canadians access mental health care.
- Invest $8.1 billion over five years and $73 billion over 20 years in defence spending.