Budget 2025: What It Means for Ontario's Aggregate Industry

The Liberal government’s Budget 2025, released yesterday, has major implications for Ontario’s aggregate industry. It commits $280 billion over five years to capital investments. That includes $115 billion for infrastructure, $110 billion for productivity and competitiveness, $30 billion for defence and $25 billion for housing.

The infrastructure portion of the spending is especially notable for the aggregate industry. The infrastructure funding targets core public works such as water and wastewater systems, transportation infrastructure and municipal infrastructure—all of which are aggregate-intensive. The plan also includes upgrades to airports, schools and hospitals, further boosting demand for stone, sand and gravel.

A key structural change in this budget is the federal government’s decision to table future budgets in the fall, aligning with the construction season. This shift is intended to ensure funding decisions and approvals are in place before tenders and procurement ramp up in the spring, enabling faster project delivery and a steadier pipeline of work for suppliers and skilled trades.

This streamlining, combined with the federal "Buy Canadian" policy, will benefit close-to-market suppliers and reinforce Ontario’s aggregate advantage. The $115-billion commitment supports the "Canada Strong" focus on roads, bridges, ports and housing-enabling infrastructure, offering multi-year stability for quarry operators, haulers and contractors.

For members of the Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (OSSGA), the message is clear: demand for stone, sand and gravel will rise as federal and provincial infrastructure programs accelerate. OSSGA will continue to advocate for consistent permitting, sustainable rehabilitation and streamlined approvals to ensure the sector can meet Canada’s nation-building ambitions.

On the tax side, the new Productivity Super-Deduction allows companies to immediately write off a larger share of new capital investments—including machinery, equipment and technology. Furthermore, two other notable spending commitments are the $30 billion allocated to defence and $25 billion for housing. These should both help drive demand for aggregate as more foundations are poured and runways are upgraded.

What happens next will depend on whether opposition parties support the government’s budget. As with any minority Parliament, the plan’s implementation hinges on political alignment in the House of Commons. If passed, the measures outlined in the 2025 budget could set the stage for a wave of infrastructure investment and construction activity across Canada—creating opportunities and responsibilities for the aggregate sector to help build a stronger nation.