VICTORIA, B.C. - Surrey families who care for a loved one, and those feeling the pinch at the grocery store, are set to benefit from two Budget 2026 measures highlighted in Victoria on November 9, with a new caregiver credit and a one-time groceries top-up arriving in early 2027.
Stephanie McLean, Secretary of State (Seniors) and MP for Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke, met with Family Caregivers of British Columbia in Victoria on November 9 to highlight the federal government’s Budget 2026 affordability investments.
A new refundable Canada caregiver credit will benefit an estimated 585,000 caregivers across the country. The credit is aimed at people who look after a family member or loved one, a role that often comes with lost income, extra costs and time away from work.
The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit is also being enhanced with a one-time 50 percent increase for the 2026-27 benefit year, delivered in early 2027. The top-up is worth up to $339 for a single person without children and up to $679 for a couple with two children.
“Budget 2026 takes meaningful steps to make life more affordable for Canadian families, from easing housing costs to helping with rising cost of food and more,” McLean said.
The same release sets out other Budget 2026 measures. They include $610.3 million over four years from 2027-28 for Nutrition North Canada; a long-term housing strategy of nearly $45 billion over 11 years; $1.2 billion in 2027-28 to extend mental health, addictions and home and community care agreements; and a Build Canada Workers Benefit expected to lift an estimated 240,000 people out of poverty.
The budget also includes a $2-billion investment to help up to 820,000 households switch to heat pumps through the National Heat Pump Rebate, a middle-class tax cut saving a two-income family up to $840 this year, and savings of up to $50,000 for first-time home buyers through the removal or reduction of GST on new homes.
At the pump, gas prices are down about 18 cents per litre after the removal of the consumer carbon price, with up to a further 10 cents per litre on gasoline and 4 cents on diesel through the temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax. More than 900,000 children now have access to affordable early learning and child care, saving families up to $11,255 per child per year, and non-sufficient fund fees are capped at $10.
The measures land directly on Surrey households. The city has many multi-generational families in which adult children and grandparents share caregiving, and many households where one person has cut back work to care for a parent, a spouse or a child with a disability. For those families, a refundable caregiver credit puts money back even when income is low, and the groceries top-up arrives at a time when food prices remain one of the biggest pressures on the weekly budget.
Family Caregivers of British Columbia is the provincial organization that supports people caring for family members and friends. It provides information, coaching and support groups, and it works with governments on policies that affect unpaid caregivers, including the credit McLean highlighted in Victoria.
Employment and Social Development Canada is the federal department behind the release. It delivers income supports, seniors programs and social development funding, and it administers many of the affordability measures announced in Budget 2026.
Surrey caregivers and families should watch for the groceries top-up in early 2027, and for further details on how to claim the new caregiver credit when they become available.
(Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, November 9, 2026)
