Supplementary Estimates (A), 2026-2027

The Government may only spend public money with Parliament’s permission. This can be done in two ways.

Parliament can provide its permission through approval of appropriation bills, which generally provide permission to spend up to certain amounts of money in a given year. Alternatively, Parliament can also provide ongoing permission to spend through continuing legislation, such as the Old Age Security benefits paid under authority of the Old Age Security Act.[^1]

The Supplementary Estimates reflect "additional spending requirements which were either not sufficiently developed in time for inclusion in the Main Estimates or have subsequently been refined to account for developments in particular programs and services."[^2]

The Supplementary Estimates (A), 2026-27 are the first Supplementary Estimates in 2026-27 and support the third appropriation bill for the current fiscal year, following interim supply and full supply for Main Estimates.

Supplementary Estimates (A), 2026-27 request an additional $11.1 billion in budgetary authorities (Table 1). Voted authorities sought total $11.1 billion, while statutory authorities are forecast to decrease by $50 million. This decrease reflects a decline in public debt charge expenditures, that is partially offset by increases in expenditures under Build Canada Homes, elderly benefits, and the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Including these Supplementary Estimates, the total proposed year-to-date budgetary authorities are $514 billion, which represents a $3.2 billion (or 0.6 per cent) increase compared to the Estimates to date for 2025-26.

Expenditures under the indigenous portfolio represent approximately one third of the total voted expenditures in these Supplementary Estimates ($4.0 billion, or 35.9 per cent). These amounts include $3.1 billion for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), and $899 million for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC). These expenditures include: