The 2025 Federal Budget focuses on stability and long-term growth, with no new broad tax increases. Key updates include GST relief for first-time home buyers, new credits for caregivers, and expanded incentives for clean-tech and manufacturing investment. The budget also clarifies how the 21-year rule applies to trusts and delays the new bare-trust reporting requirements to 2026. Overall, the plan aims to balance fiscal discipline with practical support for Canadians and small businesses.

Whether you are decades away from retirement or if it is just around the corner, being aware of the planning opportunities will take the fear and uncertainty out of this major life event.

In bull markets, some investors develop unhealthy expectations as to the long term yields their investments should provide. Ten years ago, some came to accept returns as high as 15% to 20% per annum as the base return their fund and portfolio managers were expected to provide. Of course, these expectations came crashing back to earth in 2008 as the bull was chased away by a very large bear. Today, many fund managers are of the opinion that double digit returns are going to be very difficult to achieve with any consistency over the long term. Is it time for us to lower our expectations?