On 27 January 2009, the Canadian Government released its proposed budget for the 2009 fiscal year. This budget must be approved by Parliament, which is not a certainty because of the present government's minority position. However, the budget contains a number of new and expanded initiatives to help address the financial crisis and the present recession. The following is a brief summary of a few of the initiatives to address the financial crisis.

The Insured Mortgage Purchase Program (IMPP) will be increased by Can$50 billion from Can$75 billion to Can$125 billion. The IMPP is administered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a wholly owned Crown corporation. It involves the purchase of pools of insured residential mortgages from Canadian mortgage lenders. The goal of this initiative is to increase liquidity and lending by the major institutions.

A new Canadian Secured Credit Facility (CSCF) will be created. Under the CSCF, the government will purchase from banks and other regulated financial institutions up to Can$12 billion worth of securities that are backed by auto loans and leases on vehicles and equipment. The banks and other regulated financial institutions are then expected to increase the credit available to the dealers to finance their own operations, as well as increase lending for car loans and leases.

Other measures introduced include the raising of the amount of capital and liabilities that Export Development Canada (EDC) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) can potentially have. It will also allow EDC, a financier and insurer to exporters, to support financing in the domestic Canadian market, including accounts receivable insurance, for a period of two years. EDC and BDC's authorised capital limits will double, to Can$3 billion apiece, while EDC's liability limit rises from Can$30 billion to Can$45 billion, and the BDC limit rises from Can$13 billion to Can$20 billion. Additionally, through a newly created Business Credit Availability Program, BDC and EDC will provide at least Can$5 billion in loans and credit support at market rates to companies that are having trouble obtaining loans.

The Canadian Lenders Assurance Facility, a programme designed to guarantee the debt of banks and other qualifying deposit-taking institutions and assist them in obtaining access to the wholesale lending market, will be extended from 30 April 2009 to the end of December 2009. It will also create a similar programme, called the Canadian Life Insurers Assurance Facility, for life insurers.

For small businesses, there will be an increase in the maximum loan a company can access under the Canada Small Business Financing Program as of April. The limit will be raised from Can$250,000 to Can$350,000, and will double to Can$500,000 for loans that are taken out to buy real property. Together with an increase in the amount of losses that will be reimbursed, this is expected to result in more than Can$300 million in additional financing.