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It has been 497 days since Canada last had a federal budget, which is unacceptable. Budgets are the primary tool by which governments seek Parliament’s approval for taxation and spending. Yet Canadians have been left in the dark, forced to accept government funding by special warrants — spending without Parliamentary approval — for much of the early part of 2025. That should concern us all.

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Yet, despite this glaring absence, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s extended honeymoon with the public rolls on. Canadians seem remarkably tolerant of a government that has avoided presenting the most basic instrument of fiscal accountability. Instead, Canada should loudly reject this kind of governance.

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A budget is not a ceremonial speech or a political talking point; it is the plan. Budgets are financial tools to help guide overall operational plans, including revenues, expenditures, cash flow and capital outlays for the upcoming period. Without one, transparency and accountability are undermined. Again, that should trouble us far more than it seems to.

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There are no laws requiring the federal government to present an annual budget, but there are longstanding constitutional conventions that make it obligatory.

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Since Canada was born in 1867, there has always been an annual full federal budget presented until 2020, the initial COVID-19 year, when, shockingly, there was no budget. There were annual budgets presented during the First and Second World Wars, the Great Depression years from 1929 until the 1930s and even with unstable minority governments — such as the Joe Clark government of 1979. Most countries around the world, including developing countries, also have a standard protocol to release an annual budget in advance.

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Even when new governments are elected, there have always been budgets presented, often with short but reasonable delays. Having no budget presented in 2020 was out of step. Shortly after getting elected this spring, the new finance minister indicated that there would be no budget presented this year, opting instead for a fiscal update in the fall. However, Carney promised a fall budget after feeling the heat.

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Do other countries have long periods of time elapsing between budget releases? No. It is not the norm. Yes, some countries have experienced unusual circumstances that have delayed budgets, but it is pretty rare to find experiences of long periods of delay.

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For Canada, the normal release date has been in the early spring. Why? The federal government’s fiscal year ends on March 31. It is normal for budgets — whether it is by a government, for-profit business or non-profit — to be prepared and released in advance of the next fiscal year. To release a budget after the start of the fiscal year kind of defeats the whole purpose.

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Canada’s release date for its annual budget, however, has been a guessing game over the years. It’s typically released just before the start of the next fiscal year in, say, mid-March, but it’s also common to be released shortly after as well. If an election falls within that period, then very shortly after the election.