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News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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Tax Season Opens Feb. 23 - Here's What Changed
Canada's 2026 tax season kicks off on Feb. 23, and for once there isn't a list of new rules to learn. PM Carney's first budget kept individual taxes mostly as they were, with one exception - the lowest federal tax rate dropped to 14 per cent from 15 per cent last July. Since the cut only covered half the year, the effective rate for 2025 works out to 14.5 per cent.
The bigger changes are on the CRA's end. The agency has rolled out new digital tools after months of complaints about call centre wait times (Voyageur 36). Canadians locked out of their online accounts can now reset credentials without calling anyone. Payment plans for debts of $1,000 or more can be set up online. And multi-factor authentication is now mandatory for CRA accounts.
One change that might catch people off guard is that the CRA no longer mails paper notices of assessment, and you can't call them for copies of tax slips anymore - everything lives in your online account now. If you're abroad and haven't logged into your CRA account in a while, this might be a good week to make sure you still can. Key dates are April 30 for most filers, June 15 for the self-employed - but everyone owes by April 30.
Read more: The Globe and Mail
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Canada Backs Down on Gulfstream Jets After Trump's Aviation Threats
Remember when Trump threatened to decertify all Canadian-built aircraft and slap 50 per cent tariffs on Bombardier jets (Voyageur 30)? That fight appears to be over, and Canada blinked first.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Tuesday that Transport Canada is about to approve certification for Gulfstream jets that had been stuck in review for years. "My understanding is Transport Canada will announce the Gulfstream certifications that have been delayed for years," he said. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon had hinted last week that the matter was settled, saying any "ambiguities or misunderstandings" had been "dissipated."
The dispute started because Canada hadn't granted an exemption that U.S. and European regulators gave Gulfstream to keep flying certain models while the company addressed potential fuel-system icing issues. Trump used that as leverage, threatening Bombardier - Gulfstream's main rival - with decertification and tariffs. Bombardier makes about US$5 billion of its US$8 billion in revenue from American customers. The day after the certification news broke, Bombardier announced a US$1.18-billion order from Vista Global for new business jets, with options for 120 more planes.
Read more: The Globe and Mail