New federal benefit to boost GST credit amid food inflation

By Ian MacKay

A new federal benefit to help offset food inflation should take effect this spring.

The government got MPs to quickly pass an act covering its “groceries and essentials benefit,” a Finance Department statement said. Officials expect the benefit will help “more than 12 million low- and modest-income Canadians,” the statement said.

With the measure, the government is helping people “facing cost-of-living pressures,” said François-Philippe Champagne, the finance minister.

Those eligible will receive “a one-time top-up payment to be paid as early as possible this spring, equal to a 50 per cent increase in the annual 2025-26 value of the GST credit,” the statement said. The benefit’s amount will rise by 25 per cent in July and remain there for five years, it added. The money will arrive at the start of each quarter.

“Combined, these measures mean a family of four will receive up to $1,890 this year and about $1,400 annually for the next four years,” the statement said. “A single person will receive up to $950 this year and about $700 annually for the next four years.”