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Business plan faqs.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a document that explains to others your vision for your business, the gap in the market your business will fill and the steps you will take to succeed.

Why is a business plan important?

A business plan describes what your business does and outlines the opportunities you wish to capture. Writing your business plan can help build your confidence in how you will achieve success. A business plan can also:

• Serve as a roadmap for your business
• Answer and even create more questions
• Zero in on the most effective way to build or grow your business
• Reveal gaps or risks you need to address

Show potential investors, stakeholders or lenders that you’re serious.

How do I write a business plan?

A simple way to write a business plan is to use our business plan template (the RBC Business Plan Builder for new businesses or existing businesses.

You can also read more about how to create a business plan .

What is the executive summary in a business plan?

The executive summary is the first thing your reader will see in your business plan, after your cover page and table of contents. It should grab your reader’s attention, identify what your business does and include:

• Your industry, target market and how your business is different from the competition

Your business structure (sole proprietorship, corporation, etc.)

• What stage your business is in
• Your experience and credentials, as well as your team’s, if applicable

Revenue projections for the business (or performance to date, if you’re already operating)

Tip: Write your executive summary last and keep it to one page. While it’s structurally the first section, it will summarize everything else in your plan.

What is in a business plan?

Your business plan should include the following:

An executive summary

The current business environment

An outline of your marketing and pricing strategies

A description of how your business will operate

Details of your financing and cash flow needs

A description of your team (even if it’s just you)

Any risks and how you’ll protect your business

A conclusion

Your contact information

Learn more about what to include in your business plan .

How long should a business plan be?

There is no length requirement for a business plan. It should cover essential information , be easy to skim, and also be as clear and concise as possible.

What is a business plan template?

A business plan template takes the guesswork out of writing your business plan by listing the ideal information to include. Create your own business plan for either a new business or existing business using the free template in the RBC Business Plan Builder.

Can I download the business plan template?

Yes, you can complete the business plan template in the RBC Business Plan Builder online and/or download it as a document for free at any time.

Does the business plan template work for small businesses?

Yes! The business plan template in the RBC Business Plan Builder is useful for businesses of any size. The information you provide will be specific to your unique business.

Do I have to create my business plan in one sitting?

No, you can download and save your business plan as a document at any time, so you don’t lose your work. That way, you can go at your own pace and take breaks or gather information as needed.

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Create Your Business Plan

Your business plan is a document that should grow with your business. It should undergo constant revisions as your business evolves and expands.

Navigation:

• What Your Business Plan Will Do For You
• Sample Business Plans
• General Business Planning Help

What Your Business Plan Will Do For You  

• Be a reality check! It will force you to identify your business strengths and weaknesses.
• Help you figure out your budget.
• Provide a clear direction, which can keep you focused and help eliminate stress.
• Be your timetable for operations
• Help you coordinate all the diverse activities that go into running your business.
• Serve as a resume when you seek lenders, suppliers, investors or partners.
• Ensure you evaluate the market for your product or services and size up the competition.
• Provide a clear starting point for future business planning.

Sample Business Plans  

Bplans.com This site offers a selection of free sample business plans, as well as articles on business planning. Bplans.com also sells business planning software.

Business Plans Handbook, Gale Publishing This is a database of actual business plans written by North American entrepreneurs seeking financing for their businesses. Includes examples of many start-up business ideas. Access is available through many BC public libraries, made possible by a generous donation from the Sutherland Foundation. Affiliates of UBC can start here .

Center for Business Planning The MOOT CORP® Competition simulated the experience of entrepreneurs pitching investors for funding. Although the competition is no longer held, the business plans presented by MBAs from the best business schools in the world can still be found on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

Templates  

Futurpreneur - Business Plan Writer An interactive, online, tool that allows you to customize your business plan. Includes tips & tricks and can be downloaded to a word, excel or PDF file.

Business Development Canada (BDC) - Business Plan Template This is one of the best downloadable business plan templates. The business plan contains 2 sections, with a glossary and user guide.

Canada Business Site An excellent source for financing, permit, and business planning information. Includes a complete list of useful templates.

SCORE SCORE is a non profit association helping small businesses. Their library includes templates for business plans, SWOT analysis, financial projections and more.

General Business Planning Help  

Small Business BC (SBBC) SBBC is a great place to start for information on BC specific regulations and guidelines, for whatever stage you are in your business development. This is a great post  on the topic.

GoForthInstitute An excellent collection of free resources for entrepreneurs on diverse subjects. Of particular interest are the How-To Guides, templates and samples, and business calculators. They also offer low-cost video training.

Small Business Planner, the US Small Business Administration (SBA) This website includes information and resources that will help you at any stage of the business lifecycle. Watch their series of business planning videos here .

Need information on business research as you write your business plan? Check out our Beginner's Guide to Business Research , or go to our collection of 100+ Industry  Guides for industry-specific research help.

Free business plan template

• Download business plan template
• Try Xero for free

Xero is your partner in all aspects of your business, not just accounting software. Whether you need a multi-page or one-page business plan template, our free business plan template comes ready to fill in, complete with instructions. Download a business plan sample today.

Download the business plan template

Fill out the form for a downloadable business plan template. Your business plan doc is available as an editable pdf to use again and again.

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Why business templates are vital

A business plan is essential for the success of your small business or startup. It helps guide the direction of your business and explains your vision to others. A reusable single- and multi-page template lets you tailor your pitch for investors, staff, and prospects. Plans help:

• Included Startups decide if the idea is viable.
• Included Small businesses gauge the competition, determine their competitive advantages, set goals, and plan marketing strategies.

Download our guide on how to write a business plan

Why you’ll want to plan your business with our template

Our business plan template:

Helps you budget accurately

Our business plan’s customizable structure lets you accurately present your financial data.

Find out more about Xero analytics

Explains business plan components

Each business plan component comes with an annotated explanation to help you write your plan.

Read our guide on creating a business plan

Has multi-page and single-page versions

Simplify your mission, then focus it for investors with two different templates.

Download the single and multi-page templates

Getting started with the business plan template

Develop a concise mission statement about why your company exists and how it differs from similar companies. For example, Google’s statement is ‘To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful’. LinkedIn’s statement is 'Connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful'. Then, develop business goals and objectives that fit with your statement. For example, LinkedIn’s objectives would specify metrics around the number of professionals and connections.

A value proposition presents the specific benefits your product or service brings to your customer, reinforces your brand identity, and give your team a focus. Business plan examples of value propositions might be: 'We help our customers feel good by fueling up with exceptional coffee in a community environment’, or ‘We help our customers choose the right gift in less than 10 minutes’.

A business plan for startups defines its target customers. All businesses should include market analysis in their business plans and update their analysis regularly. Start with your customers’ demographics. Then use the internet and primary sources like surveys and interviews) to learn more. Next, identify competitors and determine their strengths and weaknesses. Compare them with each other and decide where you fit within the competitive environment.

Successful small businesses promote their brands through websites, social media, broadcast ads, or sponsorships. They also use various sales channels, including online, brick-and-mortar stores, affiliates and distributors. Your business plan market analysis helps you decide the marketing strategies for your industry, product, and target audience. It also will help you predict annual sales – a key part of your financial planning.

Your business plan outline will also include your business structure, such as whether you are a limited corporation or partnership. It will list any operating agreements and information on supplier logistics. For example, how you will receive your raw materials and how you’ll deliver the product to customers. It will describe your daily operations and number of employees. Once you’ve completed your business plan, you’ll develop job descriptions for each role and begin hiring your team.

Financial forecasting is an important part of financial planning for businesses. Investors and lenders want to see your forecasts to determine whether to provide financing. The forecast also helps you budget to weather seasonal revenue dips and decide how many staff you can afford. It’s also a benchmark for gauging your performance, so you can take corrective action if necessary. Hiring a bookkeeper or accountant will help you make more accurate forecasts.

One-page business plan template

Writing about customers, competitors, income, and expenses will build your ideas in a short time. A single-page business plan template is:

• Included Easy for you and investors to read and understand
• Included Great for making a start
• Included Helps pin down the main idea
• Included Easy to update

Example of a business plan

Need an example of a simple business plan to get started.

Check out our filled-in, one-page business plan and be inspired to write your own.

When you’ll need a multi-page template

A multi-page business plan template has detailed forecasts and budgets, with evidence behind statements of costs, market size & competition

Pitching to investors

A multi-page business plan provides a comprehensive overview and is essential when you’re seeking funding.

Download multi-page business plan template.

Financing your business

Detailed financial planning for business demonstrates to lenders you manage funds responsibly.

Download our finance guide.

Forecasting and budgeting

A multi-page plan sets out expectations behind your business goals and objectives with detailed forecasting.

Learn about budgeting and forecasting.

FAQs about business plan templates

You want your team and investors to grasp your vision at a glance. A simple, concise plan is easier to understand, implement, and track. A complex plan can be overwhelming, leading to procrastination or inaction, and harder for your team to grasp. A simple plan is less daunting and more easily achievable, so you and your team are more likely to follow through with it.

Absolutely. The template is fully editable and customizable. You can change the content to create a plan that is unique, engaging, and personal, and update the plan easily as conditions change. The template guides you through the process, but doesn’t require you to do your plan a certain way.

Xero does not provide accounting, tax, business or legal advice. This template has been provided for information purposes only. You should consult your own professional advisors for advice directly relating to your business.

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Access Xero features for 30 days, then decide which plan best suits your business.

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Start selling with Shopify today

Start your free trial with Shopify today—then use these resources to guide you through every step of the process.

Business Plan: What It Is and How to Write One in 9 Steps

Business plans aren’t just for entrepreneurs who need to secure funding—they can help you plan and evaluate new ideas or growth plans, too. Find out how to write a business plan and get the most out of the process in this comprehensive guide.

A great business plan can help you clarify your strategy, identify potential roadblocks, determine necessary resources, and evaluate the viability of your idea and growth plan before you start a business .

Not every successful business launches with a formal business plan, but many founders find value in the process. When you make a business plan, you get to take time to step back, research your idea and the market you’re looking to enter, and understand the scope and the strategy behind your tactics.

Learn how to write a business plan with this step-by-step guide, including tips for getting the most of your plan and real business plan examples to inspire you.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a strategic document that outlines a company’s goals, strategies for achieving them, and the time frame for their achievement. It covers aspects like market analysis , financial projections, and organizational structure. Ultimately, a business plan serves as a roadmap for business growth and a tool to secure funding.

Often, financial institutions and investors need to see a business plan before funding any project. Even if you don’t plan to seek outside funding, a well-crafted plan becomes the guidance for your business as it scales.

The key components of a business plan

Putting together a business plan will highlight the parts of your company’s strategy and goals. It involves several key business plan components that work together to show the roadmap to your success.

Your business plan’s key components should include: 

• Executive summary: A brief overview of your entire plan.
• Company description: An explanation of what your business does and why it’s unique. 
• Market analysis: Research on your industry, target market, and competitors.
• Organization and management: Details about your business structure and the people running it.
• Products or services: A description of what you’re selling and how it benefits customers. 
• Customer segmentation: A breakdown of your target market into different groups.
• Marketing and sales plan: The strategy for promoting and selling your products and services.
• Logistics and operations: An overview of how your business will run its daily activities and manage resources.
• Financials: A complete look at projected income, expenses, and funding needs. 

How to write a business plan in 9 steps

• Draft an executive summary
• Write a company description
• Perform a market analysis
• Outline the management and organization
• List your products and services
• Perform customer segmentation
• Define a marketing plan
• Provide a logistics and operations plan
• Make a financial plan

Few things are more intimidating than a blank page. Starting your business plan with a structured outline and key elements for what you’ll include in each section is the best first step you can take.

Since an outline is such an important step in the process of writing a business plan, we’ve put together a high-level overview to get you started (and help you avoid the terror of facing a blank page).

Once you have your business plan template in place, it’s time to fill it in. We’ve broken it down by section to help you build your plan step by step.

1. Draft an executive summary

A good executive summary is one of the most crucial sections of your business plan—it’s also the last section you should write.

The executive summary distills everything that follows and gives time-crunched reviewers (e.g., potential investors and lenders) a high-level overview of your business that persuades them to read further.

Again, it’s a summary, so highlight the key points you’ve uncovered while writing your plan. If you’re writing for your own planning purposes, you can skip the summary altogether—although you might want to give it a try anyway, just for practice.

An executive summary shouldn’t exceed one page. Admittedly, that space constraint can make squeezing in all of the salient information a bit stressful—but it’s not impossible. 

Your business plan’s executive summary should include:

• Business concept. What does your business do?
• Business goals and vision. What does your business want to accomplish?
• Product description and differentiation. What do you sell, and why is it different?
• Target market. Who do you sell to?
• Marketing strategy. How do you plan on reaching your customers?
• Current financial state. What do you currently earn in revenue?
• Projected financial state. What do you foresee earning in revenue?
• The ask. How much money are you asking for?
• The team. Who’s involved in the business?

2. Write a company description

This section of your business plan should answer two fundamental questions: 

• Who are you?
• What do you plan to do? 

Answering these questions with a company description provides an introduction to why you’re in business, why you’re different, what you have going for you, and why you’re a good investment. 

For example, clean makeup brand Saie shares a letter from its founder on the company’s mission and why it exists.

Clarifying these details is still a useful exercise, even if you’re the only person who’s going to see them. It’s an opportunity to put to paper some of the more intangible facets of your business, like your principles, ideals, and cultural philosophies.

Here are some of the components you should include in your company description:

• Your business structure (Are you a sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, or incorporated company?)
• Your business model
• Your industry
• Your business’s vision, mission, and value proposition
• Background information on your business or its history
• Business objectives, both short and long term
• Your team, including key personnel and their salaries

Brand values and goals

To define your brand values , think about all the people your company is accountable to, including owners, employees, suppliers, customers, and investors. Now consider how you’d like to conduct business with each of them. As you make a list, your core values should start to emerge.

Your company description should also include both short- and long-term goals. Short-term goals, generally, should be achievable within the next year, while one to five years is a good window for long-term goals. Make sure your goal setting includes SMART goals : specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.

Vision and mission statements

Once you know your values, you can write a mission statement . Your statement should explain, in a convincing manner, why your business exists, and should be no longer than a single sentence.

Next, craft your vision statement : What impact do you envision your business having on the world once you’ve achieved your vision? Phrase this impact as an assertion—begin the statement with “We will” and you’ll be off to a great start. Your vision statement, unlike your mission statement, can be longer than a single sentence, but try to keep it to three at most. The best vision statements are concise.

3. Perform a market analysis

Market analysis is a key section of your business plan, whether or not you ever intend for anyone else to read it.

No matter what type of business you start, whether a home-based business or service-based, it’s no exaggeration to say your market can make or break it. Choose the right market for your products—one with plenty of customers who understand and need your product—and you’ll have a head start on success. 

If you choose the wrong market, or the right market at the wrong time, you may find yourself struggling for each sale. Your market analysis should include an overview of how big you estimate the market is for your products, an analysis of your business’s position in the market, and an overview of the competitive landscape. Thorough research supporting your conclusions is important both to persuade investors and to validate your own assumptions as you work through your plan.

How big is your potential market?

The potential market is an estimate of how many people need your product. While it’s exciting to imagine sky-high sales figures, you’ll want to use as much relevant independent data as possible to validate your estimated potential market.

Since this can be a daunting process, here are some general tips to help you begin your research:

• Understand your ideal customer profile. Look for government data about the size of your target market , learn where they live, what social channels they use, and their shopping habits.
• Research relevant industry trends and trajectory. Explore consumer trends and product trends in your industry by looking at Google Trends, trade publications, and influencers in the space.
• Make informed guesses. You’ll never have perfect, complete information about your total addressable market. Your goal is to base your estimates on as many verifiable data points as necessary.

Some sources to consult for market data include government statistics offices, industry associations, academic research, and respected news outlets covering your industry.

Read more: What is a Marketing Analysis? 3 Steps Every Business Should Follow

SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis looks at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. 

That involves asking questions like: 

• What are the best things about your company? 
• What are you not so good at? 
• What market or industry shifts can you take advantage of and turn into opportunities? 
• Are there external factors threatening your ability to succeed?

SWOT is often depicted in a grid or otherwise visual way. With this visual presentation, your reader can quickly see the factors that may impact your business and determine your competitive advantage in the market.

Competitive analysis

There are three overarching factors you can use to differentiate your business in the face of competition:

• Cost leadership. You have the capacity to maximize profits by offering lower prices than the majority of your competitors. Examples include companies like Mejuri and Endy .
• Differentiation. Your product or service offers something distinct from the current cost leaders in your industry and banks on standing out based on your uniqueness. Think of companies like Knix and QALO .
• Segmentation. You focus on a very specific, or niche, target market, and aim to build traction with a smaller audience before moving on to a broader market. Companies like TomboyX and Heyday Footwear are great examples of this strategy.

To understand which is the best fit, you’ll need to understand your business as well as the competitive landscape.

You’ll always have competition in the market, even with an innovative product, so it’s important to include a competitive overview in your business plan. If you’re entering an established market, include a list of a few companies you consider direct competitors and explain how you plan to differentiate your products and business from theirs.

For example, if you’re selling jewelry , your competitive differentiation could be that, unlike many high-end competitors, you donate a percentage of your profits to a notable charity or pass savings on to your customers.

If you’re entering a market where you can’t easily identify direct competitors, consider your indirect competitors—companies offering products that are substitutes for yours. For example, if you’re selling an innovative new piece of kitchen equipment, it’s too easy to say that because your product is new, you have no competition. Consider what your potential customers are doing to solve the same problems.

4. Outline the management and organization

The management and organization section of your business plan should tell readers about who’s running your company. Detail the legal structure of your business. Communicate whether you’ll incorporate your business as an S corporation or create a limited partnership or sole proprietorship.

If you have a management team, use an organizational chart to show your company’s internal structure, including the roles, responsibilities, and relationships between people in your chart. Communicate how each person will contribute to the success of your startup.

5. List your products and services

Your products or services will feature prominently in most areas of your business plan, but it’s important to provide a section that outlines key details about them for interested readers.

If you sell many items, you can include more general information on each of your product lines. If you only sell a few, provide additional information on each. 

For example, bag shop BAGGU sells a large selection of different types of bags, in addition to home goods and other accessories. Its business plan would list out those categories and key details about the products within each category.

Describe new products you’ll launch in the near future and any intellectual property you own. Express how they’ll improve profitability. It’s also important to note where products are coming from—handmade crafts are sourced differently than trending products for a dropshipping business, for instance.

6. Perform customer segmentation

Your ideal customer, also known as your target market, is the foundation of your marketing plan , if not your business plan as a whole. 

You’ll want to keep this buyer persona in mind as you make strategic decisions, which is why an overview of who they are is important to understand and include in your business plan.

To give a holistic overview of your ideal customer, describe a number of general and specific demographic characteristics. Customer segmentation often includes:

• Where they live
• Their age range
• Their level of education
• Some common behavior patterns
• How they spend their free time
• Where they work
• What technology they use
• How much they earn
• Where they’re commonly employed
• Their values, beliefs, or opinions

This information will vary based on what you’re selling, but you should be specific enough that it’s unquestionably clear who you’re trying to reach—and more importantly, why you’ve made the choices you have based on who your customers are and what they value.

For example, a college student has different interests, shopping habits, and pricing sensitivity than a 50-year-old executive at a Fortune 500 company. Your business plan and decisions would look very different based on which one was your ideal customer.

Put your customer data to work with Shopify’s customer segmentation

Shopify’s built-in segmentation tools help you discover insights about your customers, build segments as targeted as your marketing plans with filters based on your customers’ demographic and behavioral data, and drive sales with timely and personalized emails.

7. Define a marketing plan

Your marketing efforts are directly informed by your ideal customer. That’s why, as you outline your current decisions and future strategy, your marketing plan should keep a sharp focus on how your business idea is a fit for that ideal customer.

If you’re planning to invest heavily in Instagram marketing or TikTok ads , for example, it makes sense to include whether Instagram and TikTok are leading platforms for your audience. If the answer is no, that might be a sign to rethink your marketing plan.

Market your business with Shopify’s customer marketing tools

Shopify has everything you need to capture more leads, send email campaigns, automate key marketing moments, segment your customers, and analyze your results. Plus, it’s all free for your first 10,000 emails sent per month.

Most marketing plans include information on four key subjects. How much detail you present on each will depend on both your business and your plan’s audience.

• Price: How much do your products cost, and why have you made that decision?
• Product: What are you selling and how do you differentiate it in the market?
• Promotion: How will you get your products in front of your ideal customer?
• Place: Where will you sell your products? On what channels and in which markets?

Promotion may be the bulk of your plan, since you can more readily dive into tactical details, but the other three areas should be covered at least briefly—each is an important strategic lever in your marketing mix.

8. Provide a logistics and operations plan

Logistics and operations are the workflows you’ll implement to make your business idea a reality. If you’re writing a business plan for your own planning purposes, this is still an important section to consider, even though you might not need to include the same level of detail as if you were seeking investment.

Cover all parts of your planned operations, including:

• Suppliers. Where do you get the raw materials you need for production, or where are your products produced?
• Production. Will you make, manufacture, wholesale , or dropship your products? How long does it take to produce your products and get them shipped to you? How will you handle a busy season or an unexpected spike in demand?
• Facilities. Where will you and any team members work? Do you plan to have a physical retail space? If yes, where?
• Equipment. What tools and technology do you require to be up and running? This includes everything from software to lightbulbs and everything in between.
• Shipping and fulfillment. Will you be handling all the fulfillment tasks in-house, or will you use a third-party fulfillment partner?
• Inventory. How much will you keep on hand, and where will it be stored? How will you ship it to partners if required, and how will you approach inventory management ?

This section should signal to your reader that you’ve got a solid understanding of your supply chain, with strong contingency plans in place to cover potential uncertainty. If your reader is you, it should give you a basis to make other important decisions, like how to price your products to cover your estimated costs, and at what point you anticipate breaking even on your initial spending.

9. Make a financial plan

No matter how great your idea is—and regardless of the effort, time, and money you invest—a business lives or dies based on its financial health. At the end of the day, people want to work with a business they expect to be viable for the foreseeable future.

The level of detail required in your financial plan will depend on your audience and goals, but typically you’ll want to include three major views of your financials: an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash-flow statement. It also may be appropriate to include financial data and projections.

Here’s a spreadsheet template that includes everything you’ll need to create an income statement, balance sheet, and cash-flow statement, including some sample numbers. You can edit it to reflect projections if needed.

Let’s review the types of financial statements you’ll need.

Income statements

Your income statement is designed to give readers a look at your revenue sources and expenses over a given time period. With those two pieces of information, they can see the all-important bottom line or the profit or loss your business experienced during that time. If you haven’t launched your business yet, you can project future milestones of the same information.

Balance sheets

Your balance sheet offers a look at how much equity you have in your business. On one side, you list all your business assets (what you own), and on the other side, all your liabilities (what you owe). 

This provides a snapshot of your business’s shareholder equity, which is calculated as:

Assets - Liabilities = Equity

Cash flow statements

Your cash flow statement is similar to your income statement, with one important difference: it takes into account when revenues are collected and when expenses are paid.

When the cash you have coming in is greater than the cash you have going out, your cash flow is positive. When the opposite scenario is true, your cash flow is negative. Ideally, your cash flow statement will help you see when cash is low, when you might have a surplus, and where you might need to have a contingency plan to access funding to keep your business solvent .

It can be especially helpful to forecast your cash-flow statement to identify gaps or negative cash flow and adjust operations as required.

📚 Read more: Cash Flow Management: What It Is & How To Do It (+ Examples)

Why write a business plan?

Investors rely on business plans to evaluate the feasibility of a business before funding it, which is why business plans are commonly associated with getting a business loan. 

Business plans also help owners identify areas of weakness before launching, potentially avoiding costly mistakes down the road. “Laying out a business plan helped us identify the ’unknowns’ and made it easier to spot the gaps where we’d need help or, at the very least, to skill up ourselves,” says Jordan Barnett, owner of Kapow Meggings .

There are several other compelling reasons to consider writing a business plan, including:

• Strategic planning. Writing out your plan is an invaluable exercise for clarifying your ideas and can help you understand the scope of your business, as well as the amount of time, money, and resources you’ll need to get started.
• Evaluating ideas. If you’ve got multiple ideas in mind, a rough business plan for each can help you focus your time and energy on the ones with the highest chance of success.
• Research. To write a business plan, you’ll need to research your ideal customer and your competitors—information that will help you make more strategic decisions.
• Recruiting. Your business plan is one of the easiest ways to communicate your vision to potential new hires and can help build their confidence in the venture, especially if you’re in the early stages of growth.
• Partnerships. If you plan to collaborate with other brands , having a clear overview of your vision, your audience, and your business strategy will make it much easier for them to identify if your business is a good fit for theirs.
• Competitions. There are many business plan competitions offering prizes such as mentorships, grants, or investment capital. 

If you’re looking for a structured way to lay out your thoughts and ideas, and to share those ideas with people who can have a big impact on your success, making a business plan is an excellent starting point.

Business plan types

Business plan types can span from one page to multiple pages, with detailed graphs and reports. There’s no one right way to create a business plan. The goal is to convey the most important information about your company for readers.

Common business plans we see include, but are not limited to, the following types:

Traditional business plans

These are the most common business plans. Traditional business plans take longer to write and can be dozens of pages long. Venture capitalist firms and lenders ask for this plan. Traditional business plans may not be necessary if you don’t plan to seek outside funding. That’s where a lean business plan comes in.

Lean business plans

A lean business plan is a shorter version of a traditional business plan. It follows the same format, but only includes the most important information. Businesses use lean business plans to onboard new hires or modify existing plans for a specific target market. If you want to write a business plan purely for your own planning purposes when starting a new small business, a lean business plan is typically the way to go. 

Nonprofit business plans

A nonprofit business plan is for any entity that operates for public or social benefit. It covers everything you’ll find in a traditional business plan, plus a section describing the impact the company plans to make. For example, a speaker and headphone brand would communicate that they aim to help people with hearing disabilities. Donors often request this type of business plan.

📚 Read more: 7 Business Plan Examples to Inspire Your Own (2024)

7 tips for creating a small business plan

There are a few best practices when it comes to writing a business plan. While your plan will be unique to your business and goals, keep these tips in mind as you write.

1. Know your audience

When you know who will be reading your plan—even if you’re just writing it for yourself to clarify your ideas—you can tailor the language and level of detail to them. This can also help you make sure you’re including the most relevant information and figure out when to omit sections that aren’t as impactful.

2. Have a clear goal

When creating a business plan, you’ll need to put in more work and deliver a more thorough plan if your goal is to secure funding for your business, versus working through a plan for yourself or your team.

3. Invest time in research

Sections of your business plan will primarily be informed by your ideas and vision, but some of the most crucial information you’ll need requires research from independent sources. This is where you can invest time in understanding who you’re selling to, whether there’s demand for your products, and who else is selling similar products or services.

4. Keep it short and to the point

No matter who you’re writing for, your business plan should be short and readable—generally no longer than 15 to 20 pages. If you do have additional documents you think may be valuable to your audience and your goals, consider adding them as appendices.

5. Keep the tone, style, and voice consistent

This is best managed by having a single person write the plan or by allowing time for the plan to be properly edited before distributing it.

6. Use a business plan template

You can also use a free business plan template to provide a skeleton for writing a plan. These templates often guide you through each section—from financial projects to market research to mission statement—ensuring you don’t miss a step.

7. Try business plan software

Writing a business plan isn’t the easiest task for business owners. But it’s important for anyone starting or expanding a business. 

Fortunately, there are tools to help with everything from planning, drafting, creating graphics, syncing financial data, and more. Business plan software also has business plan templates and tutorials to help you finish a comprehensive plan in hours, rather than days.

A few curated picks include:

• LivePlan : the most affordable option with samples and templates
• Bizplan : tailored for startups seeking investment
• Go Small Biz : budget-friendly option with industry-specific templates

📚 Read more:  6 Best Business Plan Software Platforms (2024)

Common mistakes when writing a business plan

Other articles on business plans would never tell you what we’re about to tell you: Your business plan can fail. 

The last thing you want is for time and effort to go down the drain, so avoid these common mistakes:

• Bad business idea. Sometimes your idea may be too risky for potential investors or too expensive to run, or there’s no market. Aim for small business ideas that require low startup costs.
• No exit strategy. If you don’t show an exit strategy, or a plan for investors to leave the business with maximum profits, you’ll have little luck securing capital.
• Unbalanced teams. A great product is the cost of entry to starting a business. But an incredible team will take it to the top. Unfortunately, many business owners overlook a balanced team. They focus on potential profits, without worrying about how it will be done operationally. 
• Missing financial projections. Don’t forget your balance sheet, cash flow statements, P&L statements, and income statements. Include your break-even analysis and return-on-investment calculations in your financial projections to create a successful business plan.
• Spelling and grammar errors. All the best organizations have an editor review their documents. If someone spots typos while reading your business plan, sloppy errors like those can evoke a larger sense of distrust in your capabilities to run a successful company. It may seem minor, but legibility and error-free writing helps make a good impression on your business plan’s audience. 

Updating and revising a business plan

Business plans aren’t static documents. The business world moves fast and your plan will need to keep up. You don’t want it to get stale. 

Here’s a good rule of thumb for business plan revisions:

• Monthly: Update KPIs like sales, website traffic, and customer acquisition costs. Review your cash flow. Is your money situation as expected? Make the necessary changes.
• Quarterly : Are you hitting your targets? Be sure to update your financial performance, successful marketing campaigns, and any other recent milestones achieved.
• Yearly : Think of this as a big overhaul. Compare projections to actuals and update your forecasts. 

When updating your plan, don’t just go with your gut. Use data like surveys and website analytics to inform each update. Using outdated information will only lead to confusion and missed opportunities.

Remember not to just update one part of your plan—it’s all connected. Fortunately, with business plan software you can easily give your plan attention and help your business thrive. 

How to present a business plan

Here are some tips for presenting your business plan to stakeholders.

Understand your audience

Start by doing homework on who you’ll be presenting to. Are they investors, potential partners, or a bank? Each group will have different interests and expectations. 

Consider the following about your presentation audience:

• Background: What’s their professional experience?
• Knowledge level: How familiar are they with your industry?
• Interests: What aspects of your plan will excite them most?
• Concerns: What might make them hesitant about your idea?

Depending on who you’re presenting to, you can tweak your presentation accordingly. For example, if you’re presenting to a group of investors, you’d probably want to highlight financial projections and market analysis. 

Structure your presentation

Once you know your audience, you can organize your presentation. Think of this as the story you’ll tell listeners. A well-structured presentation helps listeners follow along and remember key points. 

Your opening should grab attention and give a snapshot of what’s to come. It’s kind of like an elevator pitch that gives an overview of your business idea. 

From there, break your presentation into clear sections:

• Problem: What issue are you solving?
• Solution: How does your business address this problem?
• Market: Who are your potential customers?
• Competition: Who else is in this space, and how are you different?
• Business model: How will you make money?
• Financial projections: What are your expected costs and revenues?
• Team: Who’s involved, and what makes them qualified?

Use visual aids to support your points. Graphs, charts, and even simple illustrations can make your information more digestible. Remember to practice your timing, too. A good presentation flows smoothly, giving each section the right amount of attention for its intended audience. 

Handle objections and questions

Facing objections or questions can be nerve-wracking, but it’s actually a great opportunity. It shows your listeners are engaged and thinking critically about your idea. The key is to be prepared and stay calm. 

Try to anticipate potential questions. Put yourself in the listener’s shoes: What would you want to know if you were them? Come up with clear answers to these questions ahead of time.

When handling questions:

• Listen carefully: Make sure you fully understand the question before answering.
• Stay positive: Even if the question seems critical, respond with enthusiasm.
• Be honest: If you don’t know something, it’s OK. Offer to find out and follow up. 

Use questions as a way to highlight the strengths of your business plan. If a question needs more thought or refresh, it’s perfectly fine to say, “That’s a great question. I’d love to look further into it and get back to you with a detailed answer.”

Handling questions well shows that you’re knowledgeable, thoughtful, and open to feedback—all things that will impress listeners and make them feel confident in your business plan. 

Prepare your business plan today

A business plan can help you identify clear, deliberate next steps for your business, even if you never plan to pitch investors—and it can help you see gaps in your plan before they become issues. 

Whether you’re working on starting a new online business idea , building a retail storefront, growing your established business, or purchasing an existing business , you now understand how to write a business plan that suits your business’s goals and needs.

Feature illustration by Rachel Tunstall

Business plan FAQ

How do i write a business plan.

Learning how to write a business plan is simple if you use a business plan template or business plan software. Typically, a traditional business plan for every new business should have the following components:

• Executive summary
• Company description, including value proposition
• Market analysis and competitive analysis
• Management and organization
• Products and services
• Customer segmentation
• Marketing plan
• Logistics and operations
• Financial plan and financial projections

What is a good business plan?

A good business plan clearly communicates your company’s purpose, goals, and growth strategies. It starts with a strong executive summary, then adequately outlines idea feasibility, target market insights, and the competitive landscape. 

A business plan template can help businesses be sure to follow the typical format of traditional business plans, which also include financial projections, details about the management team, and other key elements that venture capital firms and potential investors want to see.

What are the 3 main purposes of a business plan?

The three main purposes of a business plan are: 

• To clarify your plans for growth
• To understand your financial needs
• To attract funding from investors or secure a business loan

What are the different types of business plans?

The types of business plans include startup, refocusing, internal, annual, strategic, feasibility, operations, growth, and scenario-based. Each type of business plan has a different purpose. Business plan formats include traditional, lean, and nonprofit. Find a business plan template for the type of plan you want to write.

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Create a business plan

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Starting a Business in Canada

Starting a business can be a challenging and rewarding endeavour. With the right planning, resources, and groundwork you'll enjoy a better chance of success.

Find out if your business idea will work

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Write a Business Plan

Clarify your idea and get it in writing.

There's a lot of work involved in  writing a business plan  but it prepares you for the even bigger task of starting a business.

It will help refine your idea, outline goals, and make it easier to explain what you hope to accomplish. This comes in handy when you're looking for money.

Download our business plan template  which addresses product and service information, competitive analyses, the financial feasibility of starting up, and more.

Why You Need a Plan

If you're pitching your idea to banks or other financial institutions for a loan, you'll need a  business plan  because people want to see that you've put serious thought into your idea.

Thinking about the details will help you make decisions about your business, and will open you up to new ideas or approaches you might not have considered.

Writing out a business plan will give you an action plan to work with, but if you need help getting started  use our interactive checklist .

Why You Need a Unique Selling Point

One of the most important aspects to consider when writing your business plan is asking  why customers would buy your product or service .

Will it be better quality? Better price? Is it backed by a guarantee? Will it have more features? Will you be able to provide outstanding customer service?

Once you establish what differentiates you from the competition, it's essential to communicate it consistently when you go to market.

Use our interactive checklist  to define your unique selling point.

Determine Demand & Profit Potential

Once you know (or are reasonably sure) that customers are likely to buy your product or service, figure out if you'll be able to make a profit.

Determine what you need in sales to cover costs plus a profit margin. Also ensure you have capacity - the physical ability to work a certain number of hours in a week or produce the required amount of product.

Use our interactive checklist  for more ideas on determining demand and profit including ways to research, test marketing, and future trends.

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Four Steps to Find Out if Your New Idea Will Work

Research, validate, talk to industry insiders, and test your idea to ensure it has what it takes to succeed.

Selling Online and Other Ways to Expand Your Business

Marketplaces, subscription models, drop-shipping, and freemium offers are four ways to expand your business online.

Sources of Small Business Funding

Ways to fund your business include: self-financing, partnering with another business, angel investors, grants.

Breaking Barriers — A series on women entrepreneurs

Get inspired with our first article in a series highlighting successful women entrepreneurs who have overcome challenges to build successful businesses.

Breaking barriers — Spotlighting female entrepreneurs

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Celebrate Pride with Florence Gagnon

Her journey was so inspirational it was adapted to the silver screen, but it started with a focus on her local community.

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Business plan writer

The interactive Futurpreneur business plan writer is designed to simplify the business planning process by allowing you to customize your plan. We also provide tips & tricks, and plenty of examples to guide you as you write.

Business plan example

Gain valuable insights from Futurpreneur’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Dominik Loncar, to learn how to articulate your vision with clarity and impact. We understand that writing a business plan can feel daunting, there’s so many pieces it’s hard to know where to start. So, to help you get started we’ve created a business plan example that includes insights and rationale from Dominik Loncar. He’s our Entrepreneur-in-Residence and he’s reviewed 100s of business plans from entrepreneurs.

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Never written a business plan before? Fear not! With this crash course, you’ll be provided with an overview of the different components that make up a solid business plan ensuring you’re launch-ready and poised for success.

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The importance of your business plan

Perhaps the most important document for any new business is a business plan. Yet too many business owners fail to sit down and prepare or update one.

A business without a plan is adrift. Decisions are made reactively based on the owner’s emotions, rather than prudent research. Employees, vendors, investors and other stakeholders (as well as the owner) are unclear about the direction of the company. That lack of focus results in wasted dollars, energies and resources as the company zigzags along instead of following a well-planned straight line to its goals.

Writing a business plan can seem a daunting task. Many entrepreneurs simply don’t have the time, inclination or the proper tools.

Business planning template

We have developed a template that makes creating your Business Plan easy. And it’s free !

This template guides you through all of the steps required to complete a proper business plan. It has explanations of the terms and definitions. It lets you add your own thoughts and comments.

Once you’ve completed the steps, you’ll have a business plan complete with cover page, contact information, financial tables, product descriptions and marketing details. You can save and print the plan, or send it electronically to anyone.

Use your plan to move your business forward with confidence, to motive your team, or to present to investors or lenders.

Depending on how much research and preparation you’ve already completed, creating your plan won’t consume much time at all. While it’s very easy, don’t worry if you get stuck because help is available throughout the process.

Take your plan to the bank

Once you’ve completed your business plan, you may take it to a Scotiabank  Small Business Advisor . The advisor can review your plan, supply feedback, and, if requested, help you to explore your financing options.

Get feedback on your plan

Asking people to review your plan will make it stronger because you’ll receive valuable feedback. Share it with your accountant, lawyer, financial advisor and trusted businesspeople so they can offer their suggestions to improve your plan. If you are really worried about someone reading your secrets, consider attaching a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to the plan. An NDA is a legal document that prevents others from sharing your information with unauthorized parties.

Try our free business plan template

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10 steps to a solid business plan

A business plan is a key tool that can set you up for business success. It helps you focus on your goals and provides the answers you need to make your financing and loan process easier. Here are 10 things you should include as well as some resources to get started.

Need a farm business plan? Our business plan bundle can make writing one easier.

1. One-page executive summary

Briefly explain your business vision. Include: who you are, what your business does, future business plans and how you will be successful. Also, summarize your current financial state and future needs.

Read: How to develop a successful farm vision

2. Goals and objectives

What’s the purpose of your business? Outline your key strategies and main goals for the next one to three years.

Learn: Setting achievable goals

Farmers with a written business plan average a return on assets five times higher than those without.*

3. Company background or history

Summarize your company’s achievements and plans for growth. Describe any company strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and any significant changes that could impact the operation.

Research: Industry, markets and trade (AAFC)

4. Ownership, management and human resources

Describe the ownership structure. Include each owner’s qualifications, history and your management reporting structure. You’ll also need to identify key employees, benefits, labour policy and a succession plan (if applicable).

Use: Agri HR Toolkit (Canadian Agricultural Resource Centre)

Read: Managing People

5. Financial position and projections

For existing businesses: include financial statements from the past five years and a monthly cash-flow forecast covering at least 12 months.

For start-ups: include projected financial statements for the first three years of operation and a monthly cash-flow forecast covering at least 24 months.

Get: Ag Expert Accounting

Use: FCC Money & Finance Basics guide and FCC Cash flow planning guide

6. Products and services

Describe your product or service and what makes it marketable. Is there an aspect that’s not available in the marketplace?

Listen: Cutting edge cattle: Balance and the business of ranching

Read: Know your cost of production for better decision making and Do you know your cost of production?

7. Industry analysis

Identify your industry and describe its overall size, growth stage and patterns.

Read:  FCC Economics sector and production reports

8. Target market

Describe the potential size of your market. It helps to include popular market trends and customer profiles.

Compare: Statistics and market information (AAFC)

Find: Market Prices and information

9. Competition

Identify primary competitors within your target market. List their strengths and weaknesses compared to yours.

Find: Canadian food supplier directories (AAFC)

10. Marketing and sales plan

Describe your marketing plan and distribution channels. Include the steps for attracting and retaining customers (if applicable).

Read: Marketing 101 (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) and Want a profit boost? Make sure you have a good marketing plan

*Source: Rob Hannam, Synthesis Agri-network

Scott Beaton didn’t come from the farm. But with help from friends and knack for diversification, he grew his small operation into a full-time farming career.

From cash flow planning to net worth statements, get the basics you need to prepare for a loan application.

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Trafigura appoints Jiri Zrust as Global Head of Operational Assets

Global commodity trading house Trafigura has announced it will appoint Jiri Zrust to the newly opened role of Global Head of Operational Assets.

Air Canada work stoppage averted after tentative deal with pilots

Roughly 110,000 travellers a day could have been impacted, with some already making backup plans.

Air Canada, pilots reach tentative deal to avoid strike

Social sharing.

Passengers with plans to fly on Canada's largest airline can breathe a sigh of relief after Air Canada said Sunday it has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing more than 5,400 of its pilots.

The airline says Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge will continue to operate as normal, and the new four-year contract "recognizes the contributions and professionalism" of its pilots.

The terms of the new deal will remain confidential pending a ratification vote by the membership, expected to be completed over the next month, and approval by Air Canada's board of directors.

"Customers who used the airline's labour disruption goodwill policy to change their flights originally scheduled from between Sept. 15 and Sept. 23, 2024, to another date before Nov. 30, 2024, can change their booking back to their original flight in the same cabin at no cost, providing there is space available," the company said in its statement that exuded confidence the deal will be approved.

The countdown was on for Air Canada and its pilots to reach a deal, as both sides would have been in a position to issue a 72-hour notice of a strike or lockout at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday. The airline had said the notice would have triggered its three-day wind-down plan, starting the clock on a full work stoppage as early as Wednesday.

In the days leading up to the deadline, both the company and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said they remained far apart on the central question of pay.

"Air Canada has been bargaining in good faith with ALPA for 15 months, meeting more than 100 times, and we remain engaged with the union," the airline said in a statement earlier on Saturday.

Before news of a deal, the airline had said it offered salary increases of more than 30 per cent over four years, plus improvements to benefits, and said the union was being inflexible with "unreasonable wage demands."

The pilots' union argued Air Canada continues to post record profits while expecting pilots to accept below-market compensation. It had also said about a quarter of pilots report taking on second jobs, with about 80 per cent of those doing so out of necessity.

On Sunday, ALPA released a statement saying the tentative agreement would generate an additional $1.9 billion of value for Air Canada pilots over the four-year deal.

Looming strike: Are Air Canada pilots underpaid? | About That

"After several consecutive weeks of intense round-the-clock negotiations, progress was made on several key issues including compensation, retirement and work rules," said first officer Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada ALPA master executive council. "This agreement, if ratified by the pilot group, would officially put an end to our outdated and stale decade-old ... framework."

Air Canada and its low-cost subsidiary, Air Canada Rouge, together operate nearly 670 flights per day. A shutdown would have affected some 110,000 travellers a day, with some already making contingency plans.

Many travellers made backup plans

Margaret Shapiro of Pender Island, B.C., told CBC News that due to the uncertainty surrounding a strike, she had "no option" but to book flights with a different airline as "an insurance policy."

"It's costing me $400 more than my original Air Canada tickets," she said, adding her new Alaska Airlines flight has a layover in Seattle, whereas the original flight she booked was direct.

Shapiro's Las Vegas trip is the latest biannual excursion with a group of six friends from university, now all in their 70s, who have known each other for decades. "We are seniors on fixed incomes, so it's no small deal for us," Shapiro said.

• As Air Canada strike looms, passengers mull their options

Erik Jensen of New Westminster, B.C., meanwhile, wanted to make backup plans but said the lack of communication from Air Canada made it difficult.

Originally set to leave for a family reunion in Denmark on Sept. 16, Jensen and his family "took the initiative" to bump up their departure date with Air Canada in order to avoid the possible strike.

However, their rebooked tickets were cancelled multiple times without warning, and efforts to contact Air Canada to demand answers were a "roller coaster," often involving hours on hold and being passed around from agent to agent, he said.

Air Canada travellers' feelings range from frustration to cautious optimism as stoppage looms

"The biggest thing is [Air Canada] didn't give us communication about the fact that any of these flights were cancelled," Jensen told CBC News, noting he had to rebook tickets four times, along with peripheral reservations like hotels and travel arrangements in Denmark.

"In a word, it was a clusterf--k."

Jensen said that, as of now, Air Canada has booked a Vancouver-to-Montreal flight for his family on Sunday morning, with a connecting Montreal-to-Copenhagen Lufthansa flight. He also asked if the airline could offer them something for their trouble following the ordeal.

"They offered nothing. We had to wrangle and argue with them and finally managed to get a 15 per cent discount off our next flight. Peanuts, considering what we've gone through."

Cargo impacted

The ongoing contract dispute was having an impact on cargo. Air Canada stopped accepting certain cargo items, such as live animals and perishables, affecting seafood exports from Atlantic Canada to Europe and the United States, said Duncan Dee, former chief operating officer at the airline.

Dee said Air Canada would have had to start cancelling long-haul flights this weekend to ensure its planes are not overseas if a work stoppage would have gone ahead.

Air Canada on Thursday called for the federal government to be ready to intervene and order both sides to binding arbitration. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said he wouldn't tip the scales toward either party.

'Get the work done': Trudeau urges Air Canada and pilots’ union to make a deal

Trudeau said the government isn't just going to step in and fix the issue, something it did promptly after both of Canada's major railways saw lockouts in August.

"I know every time there's a strike, people say, 'Oh, you'll get the government to come in and fix it.' We're not going to do that," Trudeau said at an event in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que.

Negotiated agreements are always the best way forward.<br><br>My statement on the tentative agreement between Air Canada and ALPA: <a href="https://t.co/CPmlbtwbTZ">pic.twitter.com/CPmlbtwbTZ</a> &mdash; @stevenmackinnon

"We have and we will protect the Canadian economy. But first and foremost is putting all the pressure on the people who need to feel that pressure — unions and the employers."

• Customers frustrated over treatment by WestJet during mechanics' strike

He said the government respects the right to strike and would have only intervened if it became clear no negotiated agreement was possible.

The Air Canada deal comes just months after WestJet mechanics went on strike for two days in July — a situation Dee called a "black eye" for the Canadian airline industry.

A second strike, he said, would have shown the industry can't be relied upon.

"There has to be a better way to manage these disputes," Dee said. "Holding Canadian air travellers and Canadian shippers hostage is not the right way."

With files from CBC News and The Canadian Press

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Summary of the Corporate Business Plan 2023–24 with perspectives to 2025–26

From: Canada Revenue Agency

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of National Revenue, 2023

ISSN: 2563-3406

On this page

Message from the minister, foreword from the chair, message from the commissioner, taxpayer bill of rights, core responsibilities, plans at a glance, cra strategic planning framework, strategic priorities, planned spending and human resources, planned spending, planned human resources, estimates by vote.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

Corporate information

Organizational profile, raison d’être, mandate, and role: who we are and what we do, operating context, supporting information on the program inventory, cra staffing principles, supplementary information tables, federal tax expenditures, organizational contact information, appendix: definitions.

Available in PDF [ PDF - 1.18 MB ]

I am honoured to be the Minister of National Revenue, responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), for over seven years. I take great pride in Canada’s tax and benefit system, which is essential to support individual Canadians and businesses, and contributes to our collective national well-being.

The priorities outlined in this corporate business plan support key commitments in my 2021 mandate letter from the Prime Minister. My commitments are aimed at supporting Canadians and Canadian businesses, and ensuring a fair system that benefits all of us.

The  CRA  will continue to modernize its client service, to provide a seamless, empathetic and client-centric experience. It will continue to make information more accessible and easier to understand, and accelerate the use of digital tools. It will also support people filing their first income tax and benefit return, so that they are confident in meeting their tax filing obligations and in accessing benefits for which they are eligible.

The  CRA  will continue to deliver benefits to those who need them. This includes new benefits introduced by our government to make basic requirements like dental care and housing more affordable for the more vulnerable Canadians, as well as moving to quarterly advance payments of the Canada workers benefit, as of July 2023, to support eligible individuals and families who earn low incomes.

The  CRA  will continue its work to combat aggressive tax planning, tax avoidance and tax evasion by the wealthiest. This will include continuing to ensure the integrity of  COVID -19 relief and recovery measures, as well as improving the capacity to audit real estate transactions.

Throughout this work, the security and privacy of Canadians’ information will remain a priority. As the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve, so too will the measures and strategies that the  CRA  employs to ensure that Canadians can trust the  CRA  to safeguard their information.

Obviously, none of this work would be possible without the dedicated employees who are at the heart of the  CRA ’s accomplishments. I strongly support the  CRA ’s commitment to a diverse, inclusive and healthy workforce and workplace, where employees can thrive and continue to make a difference to the public they serve every day.

As the Minister of National Revenue and on behalf of the  CRA , I am proud to present the Canada Revenue Agency’s 2023–24 Corporate Business Plan with perspectives to 2025–26.

The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier,  P.C. ,  M.P.

Minister of National Revenue

The past three years have been dominated by the CRA ’s efforts to respond to the pandemic and help Canadians cope with the uncertainty and change in their own lives. As our lives and work slowly return to some normalcy, the Board and the CRA turn their attention to the CRA ’s strategic direction in a post-pandemic world. We are acutely aware that getting back to our lives as we knew them pre-pandemic does not necessarily mean we should return to old ways of doing business. The lessons learned since 2020 must help define the future strategic direction of the organization as we set out clear and concrete priorities for the CRA’s work on behalf of Canadians.

The document that follows is the result of many discussions between the Board and Senior Management – tough questions, candid responses, engaged dialogue. This year’s plan is defined by the  CRA ’s need to innovate and enhance its clients’ experience. Innovation is more than just technology. It’s about finding smarter ways to work, better ways to support our people, and more efficient ways to deploy our financial and human resources. Similarly, enhancing the client experience is not just about delivering more benefits or answering more phone calls. It’s about offering better self-serve options, helping people comply with the tax system, and taking a people-first approach with everyone who interacts with the  CRA , regardless of their personal tax or benefits situation.

With the need for innovation and enhancing client experience in mind, this year’s Corporate Business Plan aims to achieve tangible results, built around four strategic priorities:

A. Deliver seamless client experiences and tailored interactions that are digital first

The Board will work to ensure that the  CRA ’s service transformation not only keeps its momentum but is accelerated to meet clients’ expectations, by applying the principle of digital-by-design, and offering more self-service options. The Board sees client-centricity as a key component of the  CRA ’s transformation agenda and will continue to encourage the  CRA  to uphold the highest possible level of client satisfaction.

B. Combat aggressive tax planning and tax evasion

The details of the  CRA ’s compliance, collections, and enforcement work falls outside of the Board’s mandate but, at a strategic level, we fully support the  CRA ’s multi-faceted, risk-based approach to fighting aggressive tax planning and tax evasion. This approach ensures fair participation in the tax system and promotes the trust Canadians have in the  CRA . Addressing emerging compliance risks helps secure tax revenues for key public investments, education, healthcare, acting on climate change and public safety and the Board will ensure that the  CRA  has the resources in place to do so effectively. 

C. Strengthen security and safeguard privacy

The security and privacy landscape are in a state of constant change as technologies and tactics evolve and new risks emerge. Understanding the increasing importance of data in today’s technology-driven world, the Board is committed to strengthening security and protecting the personal information of Canadians. The Board will continue to ensure that the  CRA  takes adequate action against threats like fraud, cyber attacks, and identity theft. This includes having documented plans in place which leverage technological advances to identify and mitigate risk and strengthen the Agency's overall security posture. The Board will also continue to engage and foster relationships with other government actors, including the chief information officer of Canada and the president of Shared Services Canada, to ensure that the  CRA  adheres to the high standards and best practices of information and data management. Canadians must feel confident that their privacy is respected and personal data is well protected.

D. Nurture a high-performing, diverse, and inclusive workforce in a modern, flexible, and accessible workplace

The Board sees the  CRA  workforce as the single greatest driver of its success. The Board will work with the  CRA  to ensure that employees have a healthy, respectful, and rewarding work environment. We will foster an organizational culture that encourages creativity and innovation, emphasizes accountability and efficiency, advances business goals and provides value in serving Canadians. The Board also strongly supports advancing diversity and inclusion, removing barriers for individuals with disabilities, and supporting employees in finding an appropriate work-life balance. This includes equipping all employees with the right tools and modern equipment to ensure productivity and high performance in the new hybrid work model. The Board will continue to oversee and ensure that the investments in people, policies, and the physical environment adequately support the  CRA ’s vision for its workforce of the future.

Through this year’s strategic objectives and beyond, the Board is committed to service excellence and innovation and will continue to support the  CRA  in its aspiration of being a world-class tax and benefit administration. On behalf of the  CRA ’s Board of Management, I am pleased to recommend this plan to the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, and look forward to working with the  CRA  to achieve its strategic objectives to better serve Canadians.

Suzanne Gouin

Chair, Board of Management  

I am pleased to present the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) Corporate Business Plan for 2023–24 with perspectives to 2025–26. It sets out the priorities that we will pursue as we continue to contribute to the economic and social well-being of Canadians and strive for our vision to be a world-class tax and benefits administration that is trusted, fair, and helpful by putting people first.

In delivering this Plan, we will be guided by our people first philosophy, which is a cornerstone of the  CRA  culture of service excellence, and embedded in our values of Integrity, Professionalism, Respect and Collaboration. It drives us to better understand the diverse needs and expectations of Canadians, to serve our clients with empathy, to maintain their trust in protecting their personal information, and to administer taxes and benefits fairly for all Canadians.

The Plan reflects our commitment to inclusiveness, through targeted actions to engage clients and meet the needs of diverse segments of the population. Our first Accessibility Plan outlines the  CRA ’s approach for identifying, removing and preventing accessibility barriers across its programs and services.

Our strategic priorities centre on the people we serve. As we work to optimize interactions across service delivery channels, we will continue to apply a client-centric lens to provide the most responsive service possible, and continue the digitalization of our operations. We will ensure that people have access to the benefits they are entitled to, which can make a real difference in their lives.

We will pursue efforts to combat aggressive tax planning and tax evasion, helping to maintain the fair tax system Canadians expect. Our compliance work will also ensure the integrity of the  COVID -19 relief and recovery measures delivered by the  CRA . We will strengthen security and safeguard privacy to ensure the continued protection of our clients’ personal information, so that they can interact with us with confidence. The key to delivering on all these priorities is to continue to build and nurture a diverse, inclusive and high‑performing workforce, to maintain a healthy and respectful workplace, and to equip our employees to be agile and innovative.

I am very proud of the commitment to service  CRA  employees demonstrate every day, and all they have enabled us to accomplish as an organization. Over the last three years,  CRA  employees have risen to new challenges, delivering  COVID -19 emergency benefits and subsidies when individuals and businesses needed them the most, and now implementing compliance activities. They will continue to play a vital role in administering new dental and housing benefits announced in Budget 2022 for Canadians facing affordability challenges. Faced with new pressures,  CRA  employees have consistently remained resilient and committed to service excellence.

A positive organizational culture and employee experience is essential to fostering excellence. For a sixth consecutive year, the  CRA  has been named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. I am proud of this recognition, and even more so of the commitment to our people that will allow us to advance our transformation agenda and excel together.

The  CRA  is also committed to strengthening tax administration globally, notably through our active participation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Forum on Tax Administration (FTA). We will build on the great progress made in 2022 and continue focusing on three key priorities in 2023: addressing the tax challenges arising from the digitalization of the economy; the ongoing digital transformation of tax administrations in support of a more seamless model for taxation; and further tax capacity building to support developing country tax administrations.

In pursuing the priorities and commitments identified in this Plan, the  CRA  will continue to measure progress, share best practices among our colleagues and international partners and learn from challenges and setbacks encountered along the way. I am confident we will continue to build momentum in realizing our vision and to achieve meaningful results for Canadians.

Bob Hamilton

Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights   Footnote i  (TBR) describes and defines 16 rights and builds upon the CRA ’s corporate values of professionalism, respect, integrity, and collaboration. It describes the treatment taxpayers are entitled to when dealing with the CRA . The TBR also sets out the CRA ’s commitment to small business to ensure their interactions are conducted as efficiently and effectively as possible.

The CRA integrates the TBR in its core responsibilities and across all of its daily activities. The TBR is a vital part of the CRA ’s service transformation to be client-centric, fairer, and more supportive. Rights 5 and 6, 9 to 11, and 13 to 15 (identified with an asterisk below) are service rights that govern the CRA ’s relationship with taxpayers. A service right is influenced by general concepts, such as fairness, transparency, and courtesy. The CRA promotes widespread understanding of those rights to ensure they are integrated into how it delivers programs and services, and interacts with its clients.

• You have the right to receive entitlements and to pay no more and no less than what is required by law
• You have the right to service in both official languages
• You have the right to privacy and confidentiality
• You have the right to a formal review and a subsequent appeal
• You have the right to be treated professionally, courteously, and fairly*
• You have the right to complete, accurate, clear, and timely information*
• You have the right, unless otherwise provided by law, not to pay income tax amounts in dispute before you have had an impartial review
• You have the right to have the law applied consistently
• You have the right to lodge a service complaint and to be provided with an explanation of the CRA findings*
• You have the right to have the costs of compliance taken into account when administering tax legislation*
• You have the right to expect the CRA to be accountable*
• You have the right to relief from penalties and interest under tax legislation because of extraordinary circumstances
• You have the right to expect the CRA to publish its service standards and report annually*
• You have the right to expect the CRA to warn you about questionable tax schemes in a timely manner*
• You have the right to be represented by a person of your choice*
• You have the right to lodge a service complaint and request a formal review without fear of reprisal

Commitment to Small Business

• The CRA is committed to administering the tax system in a way that minimizes the costs of compliance for small businesses 
• The CRA is committed to working with all governments to streamline service, minimize cost, and reduce the compliance burden 
• The CRA is committed to providing service offerings that meet the needs of small businesses 
• The CRA is committed to conducting outreach activities that help small businesses comply with the legislation we administer
• The CRA is committed to explaining how we conduct our business with small businesses

On behalf of the Government of Canada and many provinces and territories, the CRA administers a broad range of tax laws and related legislation, including the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act. In addition, the CRA collects revenue, including income taxes and employment insurance premiums, as well as other amounts, such as Canada Pension Plan contributions. The CRA administers First Nations and Indigenous self-government taxes that are harmonized with federal legislation. The CRA also delivers a number of social benefit programs to Canadians for the federal, provincial and territorial governments.

Core responsibility: Tax

Description .

The  CRA ’s core responsibility for tax is to ensure that Canada’s self-assessment tax system is sustained by providing taxpayers with the support and information they need to understand and fulfill their tax obligations, and by taking compliance and enforcement actions when necessary to uphold the integrity of the system, offering avenues for redress whenever taxpayers may disagree with an assessment/decision.

Activities related to the core responsibility for tax include:

• informing clients of their rights, responsibilities, and entitlements under Canada’s tax laws (the Income Tax Act, the Excise Tax Act and the Excise Act, 2001) and the Taxpayer Bill of Rights
• issuing rulings and interpretations to clarify how tax laws are applied
• processing and assessing client returns and collecting taxes owed or refunding excess income tax paid
• conducting reviews and audits, applying various penalties and investigating suspected cases of willful non-compliance for tax evasion, fraud, and other serious tax law violations
• offering a process for resolving disputes
• registering businesses, charities, and deferred income and savings plans
• determining whether a worker’s employment is pensionable or insurable under the Canada Pension Plan or the Employment Insurance Act
• resolving cases of double taxation with tax treaty partners

Expected result and program inventory

Expected result: taxpayers comply with Canadian tax obligations, the right tax revenue is secured for Canadians, and Canadians have trust in the CRA .

Tax program inventory:

• tax services and processing 
• returns compliance
• collections
• reporting compliance
• objections and appeals
• taxpayer relief
• service feedback
• registered plans
• policy, rulings and interpretations

Tax performance indicators

The CRA uses the indicators identified in the table below to assess its performance with respect to its core responsibility for tax. Results will be reported in the CRA Departmental Results Report for 2022–23. The exercise of setting performance targets follows a methodology to ensure that measures are statistically sound and to enable the CRA to set ambitious and achievable targets that drive improvement. From year to year, changes to targets consider evolving priorities, consultations and past results. Changes to performance targets take into account several years of past results, where available, to ensure that measures assess trends, rather than a moment in time due to exceptional circumstances (for example, COVID -19). For more information on the methodologies used to calculate these indicators, go to GC InfoBase   Footnote ii .

Planned budgetary spending for tax

The following table shows, for tax, budgetary spending for 2023–24 as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources, and performance information for the CRA ’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase   Footnote iii .

Planned human resources for tax

The following table shows, in full-time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the CRA ’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase   Footnote iv .

Core responsibility: Benefits

Description.

The CRA ’s core responsibility for benefits is to ensure that Canadians obtain the support and information they need to know what benefits they may be eligible to receive, that they receive their benefit payments in a timely manner, and have avenues of redress when they disagree with a decision on their benefit eligibility. 

The CRA administers the Canada child benefit, goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax credit, children’s special allowances, disability tax credit, and Canada workers benefit, as well as provincial and territorial programs. The CRA uses its federal tax delivery infrastructure to administer almost 200 services and ongoing benefits and one-time payment programs on behalf of the provinces and territories that contribute directly to the economic and social well-being of Canadians by supporting families, children, and caregivers. 

Expected result: Canadians receive their rightful benefits. 

Benefits program inventory:

Benefit performance indicators.

The CRA uses the following indicators to assess its performance with respect to its core responsibility for benefits. Results will be reported in the CRA Departmental Results Report for 2022–23. For more information on the methodologies used to calculate these indicators, go to GC InfoBase   Footnote v .

Planned budgetary spending for benefits Footnote 7

The following table shows, for benefits, budgetary spending for 2023–24 as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources, and performance information for the CRA ’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase Footnote vi .

Planned human resources for benefits

The following table shows, in full time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

The financial, human resources, and performance information for the CRA ’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase   Footnote vii .

Internal services

Internal services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal services refer to the activities and resources of ten distinct service categories that support program delivery in the organization, regardless of the internal services model in an agency or a department. These services are: acquisition management services, communications services, financial management services, human resources management services, information management services, information technology services, legal services, materiel management services, management and oversight services, and real property management services.

Planned budgetary spending for internal services

The following table shows, for internal services, budgetary spending for 2023–24 as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources, and performance information for the CRA ’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase   Footnote viii .

Planned human resources for internal services

Financial, human resources, and performance information for the CRA ’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase   Footnote ix .

The Corporate Business Plan presents the CRA ’s plans under four strategic priorities, which are summarized below under Strategic Planning Framework. These strategic priorities align with the CRA ’s desired outcomes, and with commitments in the Minister of National Revenue’s December 16, 2021 Mandate Letter and Government priorities. Notably, the CRA ’s plans will support: providing a seamless, empathetic and client–centric experience; accelerating the use of digital tools; delivering benefits efficiently to eligible Canadians, including the Canada workers benefit and new dental and housing benefits announced in Budget 2022; and combatting aggressive tax planning, tax avoidance and tax evasion. In doing so, the CRA will continue to safeguard the taxpayer information it holds, and to nurture the workforce that is essential to delivering its priorities.

The CRA ’s Strategic Planning Framework links its strategic priorities and guiding principles to its mission, vision, values, and ultimate outcomes. 

The strategic priorities state what the organization will do over the planning period to better realize its ultimate outcomes. The vision of the organization has evolved to explicitly capture the notion of being a world-class tax and benefit administration, while continuing to include being trusted, fair, and helpful, by putting people first. The four priorities identify where the CRA will focus its efforts to continue to deliver results for Canadians. The Strategic Priorities section of this plan details each of these strategic priorities and identifies the commitments the CRA will pursue to advance them over the planning period.

The guiding principles, which are new to the Framework, articulate how the CRA will achieve its strategic priorities. The first principle speaks to the CRA ’s commitment to systematically applying a user-centric lens to all of its activities. The second principle focuses on integrating, streamlining, and promoting greater horizontality in the CRA ’s planning and governance models. The third principle emphasizes the importance of collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, as well as those in international jurisdictions in achieving the CRA ’s business objectives. 

The Framework applies to the CRA ’s strategic planning over multiple planning horizons, connecting this Corporate Business Plan to longer-term transformation efforts. The priorities provide a shared direction to advance a number of significant transformations in which the CRA has engaged over the last number of years, as follows: 

• leveraging data as a CRA -wide asset, emphasizing data stewardship to facilitate well-informed decisions based on accessible, quality, and reliable data
• putting clients at the centre of everything the CRA does to make their participation in Canada’s tax and benefit system easier
• creating a digital organization to meet the CRA ’s immediate digitalization needs while building a strong foundation for the future
• strengthening security to ensure Canadians’ private information remains protected in an increasingly sophisticated and hostile threat environment
• cracking down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance to ensure that all Canadians pay the taxes that they rightly owe
• progressing on the CRA ’s Journey to Hybrid’s implementation of the new hybrid work model that aims to create a flexible, digital work environment that enhances the delivery of the CRA ’s mandate

As part of its strategic planning, the CRA is also drawing inspiration from the vision outlined in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Tax Administration 3.0   Footnote x . Tax Administration 3.0 seeks to assist tax administrations in their consideration of the digital transformation journey, with a view to integrating taxation processes into taxpayers’ systems that are used to run businesses, transact and communicate, thus leading to significantly less burdensome taxation and increasingly built-in tax compliance. 

The various elements of the CRA ’s Strategic Planning Framework will guide decision-making and investments in how the CRA continues to transform in order to better serve Canadians as a modern tax and benefit administration. 

The CRA ’s mission is to: Administer tax, benefits, and related programs, and ensure compliance on behalf of governments across Canada, thereby contributing to the ongoing economic and social well-being of Canadians.

The CRA ’s vision is: A world-class tax and benefits administration that is trusted, fair, and helpful by putting people first.

The strategic priorities state what the organization will do over the planning period: 

• Deliver seamless client experiences and tailored interactions that are digital first; 
• Combat aggressive tax planning and tax evasion;
• Strengthen security and safeguard privacy; and 
• Nurture a high-performing, divers and inclusive workforce in a modern, flexible and accessible workplace.

The overall outcomes of the Strategic Planning Framework are:

• Taxpayers comply with Canadian tax obligations;
• The right tax revenue is secured for Canadians;
• Canadians receive their rightful benefits; and
• Canadians have trust in the CRA .

The guiding principles articulate how the CRA will achieve its strategic priorities:

• Apply a user-centric approach to the design and delivery of programs and services;
• Enhance enterprise-wide and data-driven approaches to planning, decision-making, and performance measurement; and
• Drive effectiveness through collaboration and partnerships.

The CRA uses a people first approach to support its clients’ efforts to meet their tax obligations by helping them understand the law and how to prevent common mistakes. To do this, the CRA is making it easier for individuals and businesses to find and understand the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and to access clear, timely, and accurate information through its web presence, social media, written communication, and contact centres. Using these digital methods helps the CRA connect and communicate information to Canadians, and allows them to submit information to the CRA more easily. 

The CRA will continue to support clients who are in precarious financial situations due to the COVID -19 pandemic by doing more to ensure that they receive benefits and by establishing flexible payment arrangements, where necessary. The CRA will also work with Employment and Social Development Canada and provinces and territories to ensure alignment in the prioritization, planning, and monitoring of work related to the take-up of benefits by hard-to-reach populations, and to seek additional ways to improve service for Canadians. Through these activities the CRA aims to increase the trust and participation of Canadians in the tax system, and to evolve to preserve tax collection in an ever-changing economic environment.

The CRA will use its knowledge and experience to meet the service experience needs of Canadians, especially those resulting from the rapid growth of digital service options, to mitigate potential service experience risks. The rapid growth of digital options throughout the Canadian economy over the past few years has raised our clients’ expectations for similarly modern, digital options when they deal with us. 

To mitigate this risk, the CRA is leveraging user research, further enhancing its secure online portals, and optimizing content on Canada.ca to enable clients to find information more easily and quickly. The CRA is also continuing to improve telephone services at its call centres by decreasing wait times and offering other service channels to reduce call volumes. 

Targeted education and outreach

Given changing demographics, compliance risks, and other key trends, the execution of CRA outreach programs and communications activities is evolving. For example, the CRA is fine-tuning its programs and activities to meet the distinct needs of specific groups of clients, such as Indigenous peoples, seniors, new Canadians, youth, persons with disabilities, and small and new businesses. Over the planning period, the CRA will improve outreach to first-time filers, potential benefit recipients, and hard-to-reach populations. The 2022 Fall Economic Statement also proposed an additional $400 million in 2022–23 and 2023–24 for CRA contact centre operations. The proposed funding will allow the CRA to support the service standard of answering 65% of calls within 15 minutes or less of a caller opting to speak with an agent.

In an effort to advance reconciliation and renew the relationship with Indigenous peoples, based on recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership, the CRA developed, in collaboration with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people, an Indigenous Portfolio Action Plan 2021–2022 to 2023–2024 – Focus on Reconciliation. This Action Plan will serve to address barriers that influence Indigenous peoples to participate in the tax and benefit system through a suite of targeted products, materials, and services. 

Through early detection and correction, the CRA seeks to identify and address unintentional non-compliance to help its clients meet their tax obligations and receive benefits for which they are eligible. The CRA will maintain an empathetic, client-centric approach, and continue to adapt its interventions to the circumstances. It will use education and outreach, and sound risk management to guide its reviews, audits, criminal investigations, and debt collection. When doing so, the CRA will remain professional, transparent, fair, and honest while treating the client with respect. 

Our commitments to Canadians in 2023–24: 

• Improve understanding of the needs and circumstances of the various segments of the Indigenous client population through research and systematic engagement 
• Increase outreach to remote Indigenous communities
• Continue to disseminate simple and practical tax and financial literacy information to Canadian youth and newcomers to help ensure they understand taxes, file their taxes, and access benefits 
• Launch service visits to claimants of the scientific research and experimental development tax credit to provide them with the information, tools, and support required to submit their claims 
• Increase the number of individuals helped through the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program 
• Develop and implement consistent results-based performance measures for targeted outreach to hard-to-reach populations
• Establish a seamless client service experience to address the needs of those requiring a high level of support to access benefits
• Conduct educational audits and reviews, with a focus on an educational approach, to assist employers in self-correcting and to promote compliance with their filing and reporting obligations 
• Publish the first plan on how the CRA will identify, remove and prevent accessibility barriers in its internal and external programs and services 
• Improve processing timelines of disputes and related requests by launching the first phase of modernizing the appeals systems to automate workload distribution functionalities for redress programs 
• Engage key stakeholders to identify collaborative opportunities, through the Liaison Officer service, to offer free tax help and educate newcomers to Canada that are self-employed or operating a small business on their tax obligations
• Launch an advertising campaign targeting hard-to-reach audiences (youth, newcomers to Canada, seniors, Indigenous and people with disabilities)

Delivering new benefits for Canadians

The CRA is working closely with Health Canada in the delivery of the Canada Dental Benefit which provides up to $1,300 over two periods per eligible child to enable access to dental care for approximately 500,000 children under the age of 12 from low-income families. The Canada Dental Benefit launched on December 1, 2022, and will be open until June 30, 2024. In addition, the CRA has partnered with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in the delivery of the one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit, which will offer a one-time, $500 payment to an approximate 1.8 million low-income renters. The top-up launched on December 12, 2022.

As the administrator of the Canada Dental Benefit and the one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit, the CRA is responsible for developing the IT system, launching the service to apply online through My Account, accepting applications and enquiries through its contact centres, undertaking verifications to ensure eligibility of applicants, recovering monies issued to those determined to be not eligible, and performing extensive public communications.

The 2022 Fall Economic Statement proposed to provide $4 billion over six years, starting in 2022–23, to automatically issue advance payments of the Canada workers benefit to about 3 million individuals who qualified for the benefit in the previous year, starting in July 2023 for the 2023 tax year. Workers will receive a minimum entitlement for the year through advance payments based on income reported in the prior-year’s tax return, and any additional entitlement for the year will be provided when filing their return for the year.

The Canada workers benefit will provide up to $1,428 for single workers or up to $2,461 for a family in the spring of 2023 through the income tax and benefit return system, and then new advance payments for 2023 across three quarters starting in July, putting more money in workers’ pockets to help cope with the rising cost of living.

Also, as part of the Government of Canada’s new financial support measures, the CRA began administering a one-time goods and services tax credit payment in November 2022. This additional one-time payment doubled the GST credit for six months for those who receive it, to help make life more affordable. The credit is estimated to deliver $2.5 billion in additional targeted support to approximately 10 million current GST credit recipients.

More ways to interact digitally

The CRA continues to accelerate its use of digital tools and processes to improve service, offering clients convenient ways to self-serve to access information about their situation, apply for benefits, and meet their tax obligations. The CRA ’s investments in information technology are fully aligned with the Government of Canada’s strategic direction for the integrated management of service, information, data, information technology, and cyber security, as described in its Digital Ambition   Footnote xi . The CRA continues to build on its success in being a leader in innovation and digital transformation, bringing together its technical and program expertise to improve service to Canadians. While traditional service methods will continue to be available, the CRA will maintain its pursuit of more ways to apply technology to the full range of its services to enable its clients to self-serve, where appropriate, thereby making compliance even easier and more convenient. 

To better enable service to clients, the CRA is leading the ePayroll Project   Footnote xii , which will propose a solution to modernize and streamline the way Canadian employers provide payroll, employment, and demographic information to the Government of Canada. The goal of the ePayroll project is to reduce the administrative burden on businesses of providing the same information to multiple departments and agencies. The CRA is working in partnership with Employment and Social Development Canada and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Office of the Chief Information Officer, to develop a recommendation for the implementation of an ePayroll solution for the Government of Canada.

• Enable individual and business clients to easily find and understand answers to their questions about taxes, benefits and credits on the CRA ’s web presence by delivering six additional content optimization projects
• Enable individual and business clients and their representatives to track the progress and expected completion date of the processing of a filed GST / HST return and of a request submitted to the CRA for its action, and to receive electronic notifications about when their file’s status has changed
• Enable taxpayers to electronically file their GST / HST returns and rebate applications at the same time through the CRA ’s secure online portal
• Enable taxpayers to electronically submit more kinds of ruling requests
• Complete a business case for the implementation of an ePayroll solution for the Government of Canada

Perspectives beyond 2023–24:

The CRA is undergoing a digital transformation that will continue beyond 2023–24. As the CRA looks ahead, additional ways it will support digital interactions will include: 

• delivering a business-to- CRA / CRA -to-business channel for ongoing exchanges of correspondence and data
• launching a client portal for claimants of the scientific research and experimental development tax credit to access information, start to build their claims, and track their claims
• continuing to advance the Digital Learning Program to help employees acquire the necessary skills, knowledge, and behaviours related to digital ways of working, including through partnering with the Canada School of Public Service to offer digital training courses 

Aggressive tax planning arrangements circumvent the object and spirit of Canada’s tax laws. It is a global problem threatening to undermine the ability of nations to generate tax revenues they need to advance and prosper. While undertaken by a taxpayer, aggressive tax avoidance is often facilitated by tax practitioners, promoters, and advisors. The strategies the CRA uses to identify and address these unacceptable arrangements are multi-faceted. These include increased numbers of audits, proposals for legislative change, education, awareness campaigns, and work with international stakeholders and partners. Supported by greater international cooperation, the CRA will enhance its ability to access accurate and timely tax and financial information from offshore tax jurisdictions.

The CRA is continuing to expand its business intelligence and data analysis tools and capacity to target those who attempt to conceal their assets to avoid paying their share of tax. This is especially needed in commercial sectors where the CRA is seeking to better understand emerging compliance risks, such as the crypto-asset market, cybercrime, and the platform, gig and sharing economies. The CRA will also make greater use of analytics to identify non-compliance risk levels in real estate transactions, and use appropriate measures (including education, outreach, and audit) to address different levels of non-compliance risks. 

The CRA will also work with provinces and territories to strengthen methods to improve compliance. Using engagement and information exchange, the CRA will ensure taxpayers are assessed properly for their federal and provincial/territorial tax obligations. 

Alongside business intelligence, the CRA has been utilizing its social media presence on platforms such as Instagram to reach younger populations or industries with a high youth participation as a way to disseminate tax information in the digital space, such as crypto-asset taxation or the platform economy, and ensure that users are aware of their tax obligations.

To identify and address intentional non-compliance as early as possible, the CRA is further refining its risk assessment models and processes to more effectively target the highest‐risk taxpayers. This approach will help to minimize objections and collections impacts, provide more certainty to those considering similar actions, and ensure that all pay their share of taxes. Taken together, these advances may result in increased application of third-party civil penalties on those who facilitate aggressive tax planning arrangements and may have a deterrent effect on the promoters and, by extension, their clients. 

The CRA faces risks as a result of tax practitioners, promoters, and advisors aiding aggressive tax planning schemes, the taxation of crypto-asset transactions, and high net-worth individuals avoiding or evading taxes using aggressive tax planning schemes. 

To continue to make sure Canadians trust the CRA to ensure that everyone pays their fair share of taxes, the CRA is taking steps to mitigate these risks. The CRA is engaging with internal and external stakeholders within the tax community to help taxpayers understand how different crypto-asset events affect their tax obligations. As well, the CRA is exploring how to work with third parties to identify crypto-asset holders. The CRA is also performing more audits to better understand the platform economy and ensure that taxpayers are complying with their obligations.

• Increase the CRA ’s audit resources to focus on more quickly and efficiently addressing emerging aggressive tax planning in the high-net-worth population 
• Continue to work towards reforming the international tax system as it applies to large multinational enterprises by engaging with the CRA ’s international and domestic partners (including Government of Canada stakeholders, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development members) 
• Further improve the CRA ’s business intelligence to identify those in the high-net-worth population at highest risk of aggressive tax planning and other non-compliant behaviour 
• Increase audits of tax promoters and advisors to deter tax practitioners, promoters, advisors, and their clients from becoming involved in aggressive tax planning arrangements 
• Implement the new mandatory disclosure rules, after receiving Royal Assent, to combat tax avoidance 
• Consult with key business-community stakeholders, to identify challenges and information gaps on reporting fees for services to ensure the CRA tailors future education and administration activities accordingly 
• Identify at least $916 million in incremental revenue as a result of investments by the Government of Canada in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, Budget 2021 and Budget 2022
• Recover $250 million in unwarranted GST / HST refund and rebate claims as a result of Budget 2021 investments in A Tax System that Promotes Fairness
• Resolve an additional $1.20 billion in tax debt as a result of Budget 2021 investments

Perspectives beyond 2023–24: 

Ensuring the fairness of Canada’s tax and benefit system is an ongoing effort. The CRA recognizes that combatting aggressive tax planning and tax evasion will require new efforts beyond 2023–24, including:

• increasing the CRA ’s investigative capacity to tackle the most sophisticated and complex cases of tax evasion and tax fraud 

Emergency and recovery benefits compliance

Through its comprehensive risk identification and post-payment audit regime, the CRA found that a small minority of benefit claimants made honest mistakes in filing their claims. The CRA has and continues to address these cases through engagement with claimants and audit activities. The CRA has been actively pursuing high-risk and ineligible claimants to ensure fairness in the tax system. Through business intelligence, referrals, leads and enhanced risk-assessment algorithms, the CRA will continue to identify and address cases demonstrating the highest level of risk for non-compliance through post-payment compliance activities.

• Continue to conduct post-payment audits on the various subsidy programs to address the highest risk cases of non-compliance
• Continue to identify and pursue claimants that have attempted to commit fraud and/or aggressive non-compliance, including preparers of ineligible claims

The protection of client information is of the utmost importance to the CRA . When clients trust that the CRA is fair when dealing with them and protects their personal information, they are more likely to comply with their tax obligations and feel confident when applying for benefits. This is why the CRA has stringent and ongoing measures in place to analyze, identify, and lessen potential threats; neutralize threats when they occur; prevent unauthorized changes to clients’ accounts; and protect sensitive data.

The CRA has long been committed to taking all necessary measures to protect clients’ personal information, enable the effective management of that information, and drive employees’ responsibility for clients’ privacy. The CRA is incorporating privacy considerations by design when it develops, operates, and manages any programs, services, processes, solutions, and technologies that work with personal information. The CRA will also continue to work with provinces and territories to safeguard taxpayer privacy and improve security in its service to Canadians. There is ongoing engagement to identify and mitigate risk related to the information the CRA exchanges with provinces and territories.

Enhanced security and privacy

The CRA will strengthen its security posture and safeguard the privacy of taxpayer information by identifying threats. It will further develop expertise and capacity to manage fraud risks on a proactive basis, by building dedicated teams with diverse, specialized skill sets who can perform sophisticated risk detection techniques. This will allow the CRA to proactively identify and manage external fraud risks and provide actionable intelligence and advice on relevant security issues to CRA business lines to enable business decisions.

The CRA will continue to invest in tools and enhance processes that prevent fraud and that strengthen cybersecurity and privacy, while taking into consideration the overall client experience. The introduction of the CRA ’s new caller confidentiality tool is another important example of how it is embedding privacy and security when it designs programs, services, and processes. 

The new caller-confidentiality tool is an automated guide for contact centre employees to simplify their determination of identity fraud risks and to standardize the application of identity authentication procedures when taxpayers call the CRA . The tool automatically gathers data from the caller’s tax accounts to provide random client-specific information that the employee can use to authenticate a caller’s identity and to determine their approved level of information sharing. This tool adds more rigour to the authentication process and it reduces the risks of human error.

The CRA and its clients are at risk of having their information exposed to cyber threats. Trust that the CRA is safeguarding private information is vital to Canadians’ participation in the tax and benefits system. With more and more information being communicated online, the importance of safeguarding the information, assets, and systems it holds remains a priority. 

The CRA closely monitors all risks related to cybersecurity, privacy, and fraud, and takes steps to mitigate these risks. For example, the CRA significantly enhanced its strategic planning to integrate new technologies and solutions and design security into new systems from the start. The CRA is fortifying its capacity to monitor, detect, and analyze emerging suspicious account activity and external fraud risks. As well, the CRA is providing employees with the necessary fraud risk management tools and training.

• Implement a privileged access management solution to enhance the CRA ’s security posture 
• Further strengthen the protection of taxpayer information from insider activity risks 
• Continue to communicate awareness, products, and guidance related to employees' security responsibilities while working in new and changing work environments 
• Launch an automated confidentiality tool to eliminate the risk of human error in correctly identifying callers to CRA contact centres 
• Enable clients to immediately report their suspicions of identity theft to the CRA on a 24/7 basis via online form or interactive voice response system 

Ensuring security and safeguarding privacy requires the CRA to continue to adapt to the evolving threat and risk landscape and to take timely and effective action to address impacts and restore services when disruptions occur. Beyond 2023–24, the CRA will:

• continue to invest in new technologies, tools, and specialized resources to proactively monitor and address potential threats and vulnerabilities, both internal and external

Timely responses to access to information and privacy (ATIP) requests

The CRA is committed to responding in a more timely way to requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. 

The Access to Information Act gives Canadians, permanent residents, and corporations or individuals present in Canada the right to ask for access to records under the Government of Canada’s control. The Privacy Act protects the privacy of individuals regarding the personal information a government institution has about them, and gives them the right to ask for corrections to their information. 

The CRA must respond to a formal request made under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act within thirty calendar days from the date it receives the request, or give notice that an extension of the deadline is required in accordance with the legislation. 

• Close all backlogged Access to Information Act and Privacy Act requests received before March 31, 2020 
• Respond digitally to 90% of Access to Information Act and Privacy Act requests 

The CRA is committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive workplace that is free from discrimination and harassment, with a workforce that is representative of Canada's diverse population. Over the planning period, the CRA will continue to support employee accessibility, compliance with its official languages obligations, and organizational resilience and productivity. The CRA will further elevate and embed character into its decision-making by selecting and developing leaders that demonstrate the values, virtues, and traits that lead to excellence.

The CRA faces the risk of employees becoming less engaged and productive if it does not make sure it is addressing employee health, well-being, and safety. Maintaining positive qualities in a hybrid work model is also important to ensure the CRA remains a top employer. In particular, technical skill sets are in high demand as the world becomes increasingly digitized, and the CRA must be able to continue to recruit from this candidate pool. 

The CRA is working to ensure that its current employees receive the opportunities needed to maintain and upgrade their skills. In addition, the CRA remains committed to providing 24/7 mental health services to its employees and their families. Overall, the CRA continues to work hard to ensure its workforce feels supported by providing guidance to employees and managers about our Journey to Hybrid plan.

Advance diversity and inclusion

The CRA will continue to advance the various initiatives under its 2021–22 to 2024–25 Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. This plan includes specific, measurable activities to move managers and employees into taking bolder and more concrete actions and to establish meaningful results and progress towards employment equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism. The CRA will continue to review its strategies to ensure they adapt with the evolution of the Canadian population and labour market availability.

The CRA has several employee groups to inform its diversity and inclusion work. The Indigenous Employee Network, Visible Minority Network, Women’s Collaborative Network, Persons with Disabilities Network, and the 2SLGBTQI+ Network contribute significantly to the support and development of equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives at the CRA . Across the country, they exchange information, host learning and training programs, and organize employee events to build awareness and understanding of employment equity and diversity and to nurture a culture of inclusion in the workplace.

The CRA has two distinct recruitment strategies which outline ways external recruitment will provide support to address existing and emerging skill gaps, as well as help ensure that the CRA has a workforce that is representative of the Canadian population. As part of the recruitment activities outlined in these strategies, the CRA is committed to removing systemic barriers from its staffing process, and fostering a workplace culture of inclusion, accessibility, and anti-racism. 

The CRA aims to become a workplace where everyone can contribute and succeed to their full potential. The CRA has resources and tools for newly hired employees, which includes ensuring that necessary accommodations are in place where applicable, which is an integral part of enabling employees to be successful. As well, initiatives support current employees so that they have opportunities to develop and advance in order to achieve their long-term career goals within the CRA .

• Develop comprehensive actions to address identified systemic and attitudinal barriers to employment opportunities for designated employment equity group members 
• Establish a comprehensive approach to identify risks in the workplace associated with psychological health and safety in order to reduce them 
• Increase the representation of Indigenous peoples in the executive group to close the current gap 
• Increase the representation of visible minorities in the executive group to close the current gap 
• Implement the 2023–2024 activities identified in the CRA Official Languages Action Plan in keeping with the modernization of the Official Languages Act
• Continue implementing the 2022–2025 CRA Recruitment Strategy to enable the recruitment of top external talent

The CRA is committed to advancing diversity and inclusion as quickly as possible. It recognizes that this is an ongoing effort. Beyond 2023–24, the CRA will: 

• publish a pay equity plan in line with the Pay Equity Act to ensure that any systemic gender-based discrimination within compensation practices is addressed so that employees receive equal pay for work of equal value
• Institute a review of existing staffing tools from an accessibility perspective, including: staffing board member training, tools, job aids and check lists
• Ensure all staffing processes targeting persons with disabilities have staffing boards that are representative and include at least one member of the persons with disabilities equity-deserving group
• Hire at least 750 net new persons with disabilities 

Support a productive workforce in a modernized work environment

The CRA will continue to be agile as it explores, experiments, and innovates on its journey to a hybrid model of work, while fostering the achievement of its operational goals and considering the needs of its employees. The goal is for all CRA offices to feature flexible, digital, and accessible workplaces that are efficient, green, collaborative, inclusive, and continue to prioritize the health and safety of employees. The CRA will ensure that its workplaces meet accessible standards and will evaluate how built environments can positively impact the workplace of the future.

The CRA has been at the forefront of embracing the values, virtues and traits that lead to excellence of character as part of developing our leaders. The Character Leadership model aims to help ensure CRA leaders understand who they are and elevates character alongside the technical skills required to lead. The CRA ’s focus on continuous learning through mechanisms such as coaching and mentorship programs, as well as implementing Character Leadership in the CRA ’s day-to-day practice helps to create an environment that supports productivity across the organization.

• Continue the transition towards the future state of the CRA ’s hybrid model of work 
• Further modernize human resources programs and processes to support the hybrid model of work 
• Implement a long-term measurement and reporting framework to evaluate the impact of character as part of the CRA ’s hiring and development of leaders

Supporting a productive workforce in a modernized work environment requires developing the right leaders, with the right character. Beyond 2023–24, the CRA will:

• further enhance leadership development programs to support a high performing workforce
• Gender-based Analysis Plus

Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) is an analytical process to assess systemic inequalities, and how diverse groups of women, men, and gender diverse people may experience policies, programs and initiatives. The "Plus" in  GBA  Plus acknowledges that  GBA  Plus is not just about differences between biology (sexes) and society-culture (genders). Gender-based Analysis (GBA) Plus is one lens the Government of Canada (GC) uses to examine the impacts of policies, programs, and initiatives on diverse groups of individuals.

GBA  Plus helps to identify unintended advantages, disadvantages, biases, and assumptions, and it ensures that decision-making supports and promotes inclusiveness for various segments of the population, including Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, and visible minorities.

The  CRA  is committed to improving the integration of  GBA  Plus assessments across its programs and policies. Achieving this will include increasing awareness and promoting tools and training available to help apply the  GBA  Plus lens. The  CRA  will continue to promote the annual  GBA  Plus Awareness Week, organized by Women and Gender Equality, and work to increase and promote  GBA  Plus training across the  CRA . 

The  CRA  will also work on identifying and applying data and research sources that support strong, evidence-based  GBA  Plus for inclusive programs and policies. This will enable the  CRA  to strengthen its  GBA  Plus assessments, including those required for budget requests, Treasury Board submissions, and Memoranda to Cabinet. 

Further, the  CRA  will seek opportunities to work with partners to leverage best practices, and to collaborate on learning opportunities, events, and communications. For example, it will examine its Sex and Gender Information Policy Direction to adopt best practices for sex and gender inclusivity in correspondence and written material. 

United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The CRA supports the UN 2030 Agenda and the following UN SDGs :

• end poverty in all its forms everywhere (Goal 1)
• promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels (Goal 16)

The CRA administers critical benefits and credits, such as the Canada child benefit and the disability tax credit, that contribute to the economic and social well-being of Canadians. Furthermore, the following efforts advance inclusivity, transparency, and accountability within the CRA : the CRA ’s access to information and privacy initiatives, the CRA ’s ongoing efforts to consult with Canadians, and the CRA Integrated Service Strategy. This strategy is particularly important as it includes the following elements:

• an accessibility plan, which articulates how the CRA identifies, removes, and prevents barriers to accessibility in its policies, internal and external programs, practices, and services 
• the collection and reporting of service feedback, which informs the CRA on service improvements and allows for senior management decision-making
• events and engagements that promote being people first, which build and reinforce national awareness of empathetic concepts, tools, and messaging that can be applied in the CRA ’s services to Canadians
• the investment in change management capacity, which supports successful implementation of projects and initiatives, and ensures employees are engaged throughout the transformation
• tools, training, and other resources, which support CRA employees when developing client-centric solutions with clients to improve CRA programs, services, and processes

Additional commitments supporting diversity and inclusion are outlined under the priority Nurture a high-performing, diverse, and inclusive workforce in a modern, flexible, and accessible workplace. 

Sustainable development at the CRA

The CRA is committed to taking action on climate change. Its Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy (DSDS) for 2020 to 2023 details efforts to move to low-carbon, climate-resilient, and green operations. The CRA is taking important steps to adapt to climate change, reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, travel and commute sustainably, divert and reduce waste, procure environmentally friendly products and services, reduce paper consumption, and promote sustainable practices.

The CRA is focused on the Government of Canada commitment to pursue net-zero emissions by managing its operations and services in a way that is economically, environmentally and socially responsible. This includes administering the fuel charge for businesses in provinces and territories where a carbon-pricing mechanism is not in place or does not meet national criteria and administering the quarterly climate action incentive payment to help individuals and families offset the cost of the federal pollution pricing. 

To meet its climate adaptation commitments, the CRA has conducted a climate risk vulnerability assessment to identify climate risk impacts to its critical services. The CRA will implement adaptation measures over the coming years to ensure continuity of its critical services to Canadians.

To support the 2022–2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS), which came into effect in November 2022, the CRA is in the process of developing its 2023–2027 DSDS . The FSDS provides a whole-of-government view to bring together federal priorities and convey federal ambition to advance sustainable development. It is organized around the 17 UN SDGs in the UN 2030 Agenda, including those with a social or economic focus, while emphasizing their environmental aspects. It outlines the Government of Canada’s sustainable development priorities, establishes goals and targets, and lists actions. The CRA ’s DSDS will outline the actions the CRA will pursue to support the FSDS .

The CRA continues to foster a culture of innovation to improve its programs and services by encouraging experimentation and iterative approaches in process, design and implementation activities. One example is the Innovation Accelerator, a three-year, $10 million incubation and acceleration program, that supports innovative ideas generated by employees across the CRA . To ensure even higher impact innovation opportunities, focused on outcomes for Canadian’s, this program was expanded in 2021–22 to include an Impact Stream. This stream takes an evidence-based and data-driven approach from the outset, through problem definition and proposed solution generation, while maintaining capacity for crowd sourcing among teams agency-wide. 

Two pilot studies and various research projects aimed at better serving hard-to-reach populations are planned for 2023–24. The CRA is pursuing a rigorous approach to this work to ensure decisions are evidence-based at every step. By using small-scale prototypes and pilot studies (involving both qualitative and quantitative assessments), the CRA will be able to iterate approaches quickly. Through this work, improvements to service design are anticipated and small-scale piloting processes will minimize risk as they provide evidence of efficiencies and effectiveness in advance of deciding to scale up possible solutions. The Impact Stream of the Innovation Program will be supported through regular reporting to governance and oversight at key steps of the innovation process.

Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

In line with the Government of Canada’s priorities, the CRA is committed to strengthening its economic relationship with Indigenous businesses and communities by providing more opportunities to First Nations, Inuit and Métis businesses through its procurement activities. This supports reconciliation efforts and ensures fair, open and transparent procurement practices that result in a supplier base that is more diverse, inclusive and representative of the Canadian population. To increase opportunities for Indigenous businesses, the CRA uses a proactive approach:

• Internal alignment of policy direction and processes: In 2023–24, the CRA will continue to review and expand its policy direction and strengthen accountability to better fulfill its obligations under the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB). The CRA revised its PSIB procedures on November 22, 2021, to align with the modernization of the PSIB . This alignment increased opportunities for Indigenous businesses and enabled the introduction of new contractual provisions which then increased opportunities to redirect solicitations to Indigenous businesses earlier in procurement process.
• directing specific commodities such as information technology end-user devices to Indigenous technology resellers
• reviewing incoming procurement requirements to determine strategies for increasing opportunities for Indigenous businesses, as applicable (such as those who may not be able to offer national coverage)
• including a conditional Indigenous clause in competitive solicitations that indicates that if two or more bids are received from Indigenous businesses, only they will be considered
• Outreach and activities: The CRA will build upon the success of the previous client outreach activities, including Contracting Awareness Month which was first promoted in 2022. The CRA will deliver annual sessions, including sessions dedicated to the CRA ’s Corporate Social Procurement Responsibilities aimed at creating awareness in support of meeting its commitments under the PSIB

Contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses (in dollars)

• The above figures do not include acquisition card transactions valued at $10,000 or less.
• The 2021–22 fiscal year was an exceptional year with a higher-than-normal need for certain goods procured from Indigenous businesses, combined with a higher total value of contracts awarded than normal, due to the CRA ’s overall COVID -19 response. The total value of contracts forecasted for 2022–23 and 2023–24 is based on previous years’ averages.

CRA spending 2020–21 to 2025–26

The following graph presents planned spending (voted and statutory expenditures) over time. Footnote 8

CRA spending trend (dollars)

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

A significant portion of the increase in the CRA ’s overall budget is attributable to its statutory appropriations, in particular to spending associated with the Climate Action Incentive (CAI) payment. The CRA is responsible for the administration of the fuel charge in jurisdictions that do not meet the federal carbon pricing benchmark. This includes the delivery of the CAI payment which returns the majority of the direct proceeds from the fuel charge to individuals and families of the province in which the proceeds are raised. 

Actual and forecast spending under the CRA ’s voted appropriations for fiscal years 2020–21 to 2022–23 also includes technical adjustments such as the carry-forward from the previous year and funding for severance payments, parental benefits, and vacation credits. In addition to these items, forecast spending in 2022–23 has increased as a result of the administration of measures announced in the 2021 and 2022 federal budgets and economic statements as well as funding to address the post pandemic sustainability of CRA contact centres. It also reflects amounts anticipated to be recovered in-year for the administration of the one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit and the interim Canada Dental Benefit. Over the planning period, the reduction in the CRA ’s voted appropriations, from $4.515 billion in 2023–24 to $4.327 billion in 2025–26 is primarily as a result of a decrease or sunsetting of funding to implement and administer various measures announced in the federal budgets and economic statements as well as those associated with the COVID -19 pandemic.

The following table reconciles gross planned spending with net planned spending for 2023–24.

2023–24 Budgetary gross and net planned spending summary (dollars)

Planned revenues netted against expenditures represent amounts to be recovered by the CRA for the provision of services to Employment and Social Development Canada for the administration of the Canada Pension Plan and the Employment Insurance Act.

The following table shows actual, forecast and planned full-time equivalents (FTEs) for each core responsibility in the  CRA ’s Departmental Results Framework and to internal services for the years relevant to the current planning year.

Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services

The increase in forecast full-time equivalents (FTE) in 2022–23 is largely attributable to the administration of measures announced in the 2021 and 2022 federal budgets and economic statements as well as those associated with addressing the post-pandemic sustainability of CRA contact centres and the administration of the one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit and the interim Canada Dental Benefit. Over the planning period, the reduction in FTEs from 50,195 in 2023–24 to 46,970 in 2025–26, is primarily as a result of a decrease or sunsetting of funding to implement and administer various measures announced in the federal budgets and economic statements as well as those associated with the COVID -19 pandemic.

Information on the CRA ’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2023–24 Main Estimates   Footnote xiii .

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations 

The condensed future-oriented statement of operations for CRA activities, which includes only those operational revenues and expenses that are managed by the CRA and utilized in running this organization, provides a general overview of the CRA ’s operations. The forecast of financial information on expenses and revenues is prepared on an accrual accounting basis to strengthen accountability and to improve transparency and financial management. The forecast and planned spending amounts presented in other sections of this Plan are prepared on an expenditure basis; as a result, amounts may differ. A more detailed future-oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations to the requested authorities, are available on the CRA ’s departmental web page   Footnote xiv .

Condensed future-oriented statement of operations for the year ending March 31 (dollars)

Minister: The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, P.C. , M.P.

Ministerial profile: National Revenue

Institutional head: Bob Hamilton

Enabling instrument: Canada Revenue Agency Act   Footnote xv

Chair, Board of Management: Suzanne Gouin

Year of commencement: 1999

The Canada Revenue Agency Act sets out the mandate, structure and authorities of the CRA . It establishes a governance structure that is unique in Canada, comprising a Minister, Board of Management, Commissioner and Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson. The Minister is responsible to Parliament for all CRA activities and exercises powers relating to regulation making and providing reports to Parliament or the Governor in Council (Cabinet). The Board is responsible for overseeing the organization and administration of the CRA and the management of its resources, services, property, personnel and contracts. It is also responsible for developing the Corporate Business Plan. The CRA is headed by a Commissioner who is accountable to the Minister and must assist and advise them with respect to legislated authorities, duties, functions and Cabinet responsibilities. As the CRA ’s chief executive officer, the Commissioner is responsible for the day to day management of the CRA . The mandate of the Ombudsperson is to enhance the accountability of the CRA in its services to taxpayers by offering a service complaint mechanism that is independent of the CRA . The Ombudsperson is responsible for upholding the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

The Minister of National Revenue is responsible for the CRA . The raison d’être of the CRA is to administer taxes, benefits, and related programs for governments across Canada. The CRA contributes to the economic and social well-being of Canadians by making sure that:

• clients receive the information and services they need to comply with their tax obligations
• clients receive the benefits for which they are eligible
• non-compliance is addressed
• clients have access to appropriate mechanisms for resolving disputes

The CRA ’s mandate is legislated through acts, including the Income Tax Act, the Excise Tax Act and the Excise Act, which the CRA administers. In fulfilling its core responsibilities, the CRA ’s role is to collect taxes on behalf of most provinces and territories, as well as many self-governing Indigenous governments, to collect certain non-tax debts for the federal government, and to administer legislation relating to charities, the Canada Pension Plan, other registered plans, and the employment insurance program.

Information on the CRA ’s operating context is available on the About the Canada Revenue Agency   Footnote xvi web page.

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to Canada Revenue Agency’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase   Footnote xvii .

Staffing principles related to a successful staffing program:

Adaptability.

Staffing is flexible and responsive to the changing circumstances and to the unique or special needs of the organization.

Staffing is planned and carried out taking into consideration time and cost, and it is linked to business requirements.

Staffing is equitable, just, and objective.

Productiveness

Staffing results in the required number of competent people being appointed to conduct the CRA’s business.

Transparency

Communications about staffing are open, honest, respectful, timely, and easy to understand.

Staffing principles related to an effective workforce:

The workforce possesses the attributes required for effective job performance.

Non-partisanship

The workforce and staffing decisions must be free from political and bureaucratic influence.

Representativeness

The composition of our workforce reflects the labour market availability of employment equity designated groups.

The following supplementary information tables are available on the CRA ’s departmental web page   Footnote xviii :

• The CRA ’s Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
• Details on transfer payment programs
• United Nations 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals
• Future-oriented statement of operations

Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government-wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures   Footnote xix . This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and Gender-based Analysis Plus.

Mailing address:

Connaught building 555 MacKenzie Avenue Ottawa ON K1A 0L5

Telephone: 613-957-3688 Fax: 613-952-1547

Web page: Canada Revenue Agency   Footnote xx  

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

A document that sets out a department’s priorities, programs, expected results and associated resource requirements, covering a three-year period beginning with the year indicated in the title of the report. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

A change that a department seeks to influence. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a departmental result.

A framework that consists of the department’s core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.

A report on a department’s actual performance in a fiscal year against its plans, priorities and expected results set out in its Departmental Plan for that year. Departmental Results Reports are usually tabled in Parliament each fall.

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. Full-time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography, language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

For the purpose of the 2023–24 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the Government’s agenda in the 2021 Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fight harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation and fighting for a secure, just, and equitable world.

High impact innovation varies per organizational context. In some cases, it could mean trying something significantly new or different from the status quo. In other cases, it might mean making incremental improvements that relate to a high-spending area or addressing problems faced by a significant number of Canadians or public servants.

An initiative in which two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within a department and that focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

An inventory of a department’s programs that describes how resources are organized to carry out the department’s core responsibilities and achieve its planned results.

An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead, they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

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NDP caving to Poilievre on carbon price, has no idea how to fight climate change: Trudeau

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh won't say whether he would keep the consumer carbon price if his party forms government at the next election. Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took shots at the NDP on Friday for equivocating on the consumer carbon price, accusing Jagmeet Singh of caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Speaking to reporters in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., Mr. Trudeau blasted the NDP in response to a question about the upcoming by-election in Montreal, arguing that voters in the riding deserve better than a party that would “walk away” from progressive values and the fight against climate change.

“I do believe that Jagmeet Singh and the NDP actually do care about the environment. It’s just increasingly obvious that they have no idea what to do to fight against climate change,” Mr. Trudeau said.

“They had no ideas on the environment, and one of the first things they do after walking away from that agreement to deliver progressive things for Canadians, is walk away from any plan to fight climate change.”

Mr. Trudeau was referring to the NDP leader’s announcement last week that the party was leaving the supply-and-confidence deal with the minority government.

On Thursday, Mr. Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but he would not say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.

Canada has a levy on fuel purchased by individuals and smaller businesses and another that is applied to a portion of the actual emissions produced by big industrial companies. The price for a tonne is the same, but the way the systems work is different.

Mr. Singh’s non-committal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.

While the Conservatives have blamed the carbon levy for raising the cost of living, the Prime Minister once again cited the parliamentary budget officer’s finding that eight out of 10 households in jurisdictions that have the federal backstop receive more money in rebates than they pay in carbon pricing.

“And yet, Jagmeet Singh and the NDP are caving to the political pressures from Pierre Poilievre and from the Conservatives,” Mr. Trudeau said.

“That’s not what Montrealers expect and deserve.”

Voters will be heading to the polls on Sept. 16 in the Montreal riding of LaSalle–Emard–Verdun. The seat was held by former justice minister David Lametti before he resigned last winter.

Another by-election will be held on the same day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood–Transcona, a seat that has been held by the NDP.

Mr. Poilievre responded to Mr. Singh’s Thursday comments by releasing a video pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.

In response to Mr. Trudeau’s comments on Friday, the NDP said in a statement that the Prime Minister “destroyed” any credibility his plan had when he allowed a carveout for heating oil – a move that disproportionately favoured Atlantic Canadians. While the exemption applies everywhere, a larger proportion of homes use heating oil in the Atlantic region than anywhere else.

“We’ll take no lessons from the Trudeau government, knowing they haven’t met even a single climate target,” said Laurel Collins, the NDP’s environment critic.

“And obviously, we won’t be listening to the slash-and-burn Conservatives. Pierre Poilievre would make it even easier for big polluters to keep polluting our lakes, rivers and air.”

British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.

Economists are widely in favour of carbon pricing, arguing it is the most cost effective way to reduce emissions. It is also favoured by climate activists.

Keith Stewart, a senior energy strategist with Greenpeace Canada, said he wants to see how the NDP plans to reduce emissions and wishes Mr. Singh had said how he would shift the burden to big polluters.

“My big concern was that he seemed to be repeating right-wing talking points coming from Pierre Poilievre on how the carbon price is unfair to lower income Canadians. And that’s not true,” Mr. Stewart said.

The Liberal government gives all of the money it collects from the consumer carbon price back to families in the form of rebates. The rebates allowed the government to tout the climate policy for both reducing emissions and putting back more money in the pockets of lower-income households.

Andrew Leach, an economics professor at the University of Alberta, said the rebates are what got centre-left politicians in Canada on board with the policy, which was previously advocated for by conservative-leaning policy makers and politicians.

“When you redistribute the average revenue across the board, as the federal carbon price does, it just makes people at those lower incomes better off,” Mr. Leach said.

“So [the rebates] changed the view of this policy for progressive politicians in Canada, and it changed what was sort of a classic right-wing or centre-right policy into one that was acceptable to politicians further on the left.”

Now, as New Democrats at the federal and provincial levels waver on the consumer carbon price, Mr. Leach said they will have to figure out how they plan to aggressively reduce emissions without putting a price on a significant portion of emissions.

“The math gets pretty hard,” Mr. Leach said.

According to a 2022 report from Statistics Canada, about 41 per cent of Canadian emissions were the result of household consumption.

A Canadian Climate Institute report earlier this year said the carbon price could eliminate about 100 million tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030, about one-fifth of that from the consumer levy and the rest from big industry. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault argued at the time that while the consumer levy may not be as impactful on emissions as the industrial price, it’s still a significant amount.

Twenty million tonnes is about what 4.7 million passenger vehicles emit over the course of a year.

Mr. Leach also noted that focusing on big polluters would disproportionately affect Western Canada, which would make it “a very unbalanced policy from a federalism perspective.”

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First Published: Sep 15 2024 | 2:13 PM IST

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