The federal minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Jenna Sudds, revealed a series of funding measures from Tuesday’s 2024 budget announcement at Loyalist College on Thursday.
Sudds announced that the federal government would be investing $10 million in the skilled trades and awareness program, as well as $90 million into apprenticeship services.
Also announced was a commitment to increase core research grant funding and announcing an investment of $2.4 billion to support and improve access to Artificial Intelligence infrastructure.
All are subject to the approval of the 2024 federal budget through the House of Commons.
“So there will be an application process as is typically the process with these funding portals. So those details will be crystallized,” Sudds said on how the money will be separated between the colleges.
“We do obviously have to pass the budget. That will be the next step. Undoubtedly, I think this budget has a lot of really important investments and programs for Canadians and for people here in Belleville and in the region. So of course, we will do the work needed on Parliament Hill to push for it to be passed.”
As of now, there is no funding designated for Loyalist College as they will have to go through the application process.
“Obviously the announcement that we’ve made through the budget (Tuesday) will now start conversations and the opportunity for schools like Loyalist and schools across the country to participate both in the entrepreneurship and the skilled trades side so I know that my colleagues will be eager to support the community here and colleges across the country,” Sudds tells media.
The opposition Conservative Party has already announced it will be voting against the budget while the NDP has not committed to backing the budget despite a supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh criticized the budget saying it failed to tackle corporate greed and that it wouldn’t restore generational fairness.
Sudds was asked if the Liberals believed that they would have the NDP’s support passing the budget through the House of Commons.
“I think the leader of the NDP and his early reaction to the budget outlined a desire to sit down and talk more about what is included, what it means and potentially what’s excluded that they would have liked to have seen,” Sudds said.
“I think that when the NDP reflects and realizes the suite of supports that are really critical to Canadians, we will be able to get this budget passed. I have no doubt that the Conservatives will try as best they can to prolong and to delay that, but we will continue to work to ensure that it passes.”
The Bloc Quebecois have also announced they would not be supporting the budget.
An election could be triggered if the NDP breaks the supply and confidence deal and vote against the 2024 budget.
