Why business leaders are ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the upcoming federal budget - CTV News

Lachlan Wolfers, national leader at KPMG Law, Canada, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss what businesses want ahead of the Federal Budget 2026. As Canada’s business leaders await the release of the 2026 federal budget, a majority say they’re optimistic about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s economic and fiscal plans as long as they lead to “concrete action,” research suggests. On Thursday, KPMG released the results of a recent poll that found 71 per cent of business leaders are expecting a “business-friendly budget that improves their prospects” from the federal Liberals this fall. Although Canada’s economic outlook is clouded by trade tensions with the U. S., the need for lawmakers to put forward a plan that mitigates that uncertainty is partly why leaders are so bullish on the budget, argues Lachlan Wolfers, national leader at KPMG Law Canada. “I’d say the optimism is born out of current economic conditions, which are obviously fragile, but people are cautiously optimistic in the government trying to ensure policy settings encourage further business innovation and investment along the way,” he said.

Browse this and many other websites without banner ads, personalized tracking and video ads. Mercedes-AMG is bringing its sports car DNA to the full-size electric SUV segment. The new GT SUV is officially here with up to 1,153 horsepower, a 0-60 mile-per-hour time of 2.4 seconds, and DC fast charging at up to 710 kilowatts.

The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador has certified a class action on behalf of passengers on board Air Canada Flight AC 2259 which landed hard at Halifax in December of 2025 after the plane’s landing gear collapsed. The flight had taken off from St. John’s International earlier that evening, and officials at YYT later confirmed that debris was found on one of its runways after the flight took off. They wouldn’t say at the time whether the discovery was related to the incident at Halifax. The class action names Air Canada, Provincial Aerospace Ltd, St. John’s International Airport Authority and the Halifax International Airport Authority, all of whom have consented to certification. Stephen Barnes of Bob Buckingham Law says they want to understand what went wrong that night and make sure that passengers have an opportunity to be fairly compensated for what they went through. The case will examine whether the defendants met their responsibilities for aircraft safety, runway safety and emergency response, and whether any failures caused injury or loss to passengers.