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CGI Navigator Independent Budget 2026 Guide Draft Bill Alerts
Legislative Status: Proposed Measure (Federal Budget 2026 — Tabled Nov 5, 2026) Last Verified:

Is the Canada Growth Incentive law yet?

No. As of November 13, 2026, the Canada Growth Incentive is a proposal in Federal Budget 2026, tabled November 5, 2026. The accompanying Ways and Means Motion contains only a one-sentence enabling clause, and no draft legislative text, integrity rules or bill has been released. Once enacted, it would apply to qualifying shares issued from Budget Day.

Status at a glance Last verified
Budget tabled
Nov 5, 2026
Design set out in Budget annex
Draft legislation
Not released
Integrity rules “at a later date”
Bill / Royal Assent
Pending
No bill introduced yet
Days since Budget Day
8
as of Nov 13, 2026

Shares issued on November 13, 2026 could first be sold as CGI-qualifying shares on or after about November 13, 2029 (36 consecutive months), if every other condition is met.

Parliamentary milestone tracker

Each step a Budget tax measure normally passes through, and where the two Canada Growth Incentive measures stand. We update this page when Finance Canada or Parliament publishes something new, and subscribers to our free draft-legislation alert are emailed a plain-English summary.

  1. Budget 2026 tabled2026-11-05Done
    Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne tabled Budget 2026. Annex Tax Measures: Supplementary Information sets out both measures: the CGI capital gains exemption (up to $15M per qualifying individual per business, for shares issued from Budget Day and before 2037) and the CGI rollover for investments in small businesses (an expanded s. 44.1 replacement window, including a SAFE extension).
  2. Notice of Ways and Means Motion published2026-11-05Done — general clause only
    The Budget 2026 Ways and Means Motion to amend the Income Tax Act includes one general clause for each CGI measure: “The Act is modified to give effect to the proposals relating to the Canada Growth Incentive … as described in the budget documents.” It contains no section-by-section statutory text for either measure.
  3. Integrity (anti-avoidance) rules releasedDate not announcedPending
    The annex says additional rules “will be proposed” to prevent access “in circumstances that do not align with the intent of the measure, including the multiplication of the exemption limit through the use of multiple corporations that carry on the same underlying business,” and that “details of these rules will be released at a later date.” Continuity rules for post-issuance share-for-share exchanges were also promised.
  4. Draft legislative proposals + explanatory notesDate not announcedPending
    Finance Canada typically publishes draft amendments with explanatory notes, sometimes with a comment period, before a bill is introduced. This is where open questions like SAFE conversions, option exercises, the exact LCGE interaction and the definition of a “business” would be settled.
  5. Bill introduced — First Reading (House of Commons)—Not started
    The measures would be included in a budget implementation or other tax bill.
  6. Second Reading, committee study, Third Reading—Not started
    House debate, study by the Standing Committee on Finance, and a final vote. Amendments can be made at committee.
  7. Senate passage—Not started
    The Senate repeats the reading-and-committee process.
  8. Royal Assent — law—Not started
    Once assented to, the CGI exemption would apply to qualifying shares issued on or after November 5, 2026, the rollover changes to qualifying dispositions on or after January 1, 2027, as the Budget proposes, unless Parliament changes those dates.

Dates that matter even before enactment

Key dates in the Budget 2026 proposals
DateWhat it meansSource
2026-11-05Budget Day. First day a share can be issued and qualify for the CGI exemption.Budget annex, “Coming into Force”
2027-01-01Expanded small business rollover (4-year replacement window; up to 5 years with a SAFE) applies to qualifying dispositions on or after this date.Budget annex, rollover “Coming into force”
≈ 2029-11-05Earliest possible CGI-qualifying sale: 36 consecutive months after a Budget Day issuance.Derived from the 36-month holding test
2036-12-31Last day a share can be issued and qualify (“before 2037”).Budget annex, “Coming into Force”

The “≈” date is our arithmetic, not a date stated in the Budget. The exact day-count convention will be fixed in legislation.

What Finance Canada’s own cost estimates tell you

The Budget’s fiscal-impact table (positive figures are revenue foregone, $ millions) lines up with the mechanics above:

Budget 2026, Table 1 — Canada Growth Incentive measures ($ millions)
Measure2027–282028–292029–302030–31Total
CGI — capital gains exemption––80485565
CGI — rollover for investments in small businesses35354040150

No exemption cost appears before 2029–30, because no share can satisfy the 36-month hold until late 2029. The rollover costs start in 2027–28, matching its January 1, 2027 start date.

What “proposed” means for founders and investors today

Frequently asked questions

If the Canada Growth Incentive isn’t law yet, do shares issued now still count?
Under the proposal as tabled, yes: it would apply to qualifying shares issued on or after Budget Day (November 5, 2026) and before 2037, so shares issued while the bill is pending would be covered once it is enacted. The risk is that the final legislation changes the conditions. Shares issued now are judged against whatever rules Parliament ultimately passes.
When is the earliest anyone could actually claim the CGI exemption?
Because a qualifying share must be held for 36 consecutive months before it is sold, the earliest qualifying sale is about November 2029, for shares issued on Budget Day. The government’s own cost table is consistent with that timing: it shows no cost for the CGI exemption until 2029–30 ($80 million), rising to $485 million in 2030–31.
What is a Notice of Ways and Means Motion, and why does it matter here?
A Ways and Means Motion is the parliamentary step that precedes a tax bill. For some Budget 2026 measures it contains detailed amending text. For both Canada Growth Incentive measures it contains only a general clause saying the Act “is modified to give effect to the proposals … as described in the budget documents.” The detailed statutory wording, including the promised integrity rules, has not yet been published.
Can a budget tax proposal be dropped before it becomes law?
Yes. Budget proposals are not law until Parliament passes them and they receive Royal Assent, and they can be changed or abandoned. A recent example: the increase in the capital gains inclusion rate announced in Budget 2024 was cancelled in March 2025 before it was enacted.

Statutory & official source references

Budget 2026 measures are proposals until enacted by Parliament; details may change when draft legislation is released. See our editorial methodology and the legislative tracker.

Existing Shares Founder shares issued before November 5, 2026 Keep the LCGE, subscribe for new shares, or start a new venture — and why share swaps don’t qualify. SAFE Financing Do SAFEs qualify for the Canada Growth Incentive? When the 36-month clock can start for SAFE holders, the $100M test at conversion, and the rollover’s SAFE extension. AMT AMT on a Canada Growth Incentive exit Exit-year AMT at $2M–$15M by province, and how much the 7-year carryforward actually recovers.
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