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Defence expected to find operational savings even as budget balloons: Ottawa

Jul 9, 2025 | 9:53 AM

OTTAWA — Ottawa is expecting national defence to find places to cut its day-to-day spending even as the department’s overall budget balloons in the coming years.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne sent letters to ministers on Monday asking them to find savings of 7.5 per cent in their budgets starting in fiscal 2026.

The ask rises to 10 per cent the following year and 15 per cent in cuts in 2028.

Champagne’s spokesperson Audrey Milette says the Department of National Defence will also have to find savings from its day-to-day costs.