Red Ink on the Prairies

A day after Quebec’s Finance Minister Eric Girard brought down a Budget featuring a $6.3 Billion deficit, Saskatchewan’s Finance Minister Jim Reiter tabled his government’s budget on March 19. Next up was Finance Minister Adrian Salas, who tabled the Manitoba Budget on March 24. The common thread: there’s lots of red ink on the Prairies. But that’s where the budget documents differ between Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Here’s the latest tax news and why it matters to the advice you give your clients.

Happy New Year! If one of your resolutions for 2026 is to downsize, or at least sort through all that stuff you don’t need anymore, you may inevitably run across those tax files you’ve been keeping for decades. Just how long do you have to keep them? Do you need permission to destroy them? From whom? Read on to learn more. 

To prepare for a high quality, efficient and profitable tax season, you can count on Knowledge Bureau for a world class educational experience customized to your office needs. Here’s why that’s important: tax and estate planning are the fastest-growing service areas in the financial services. To embrace this trend with professionalism and business acumen, the key to success is your highly trained team. Consider the following:

Only 7% of all Canadian tax filers use paper. The CRA wants the number to be close to zero. To that end, it is taking steps to steer the holdouts to join the 93% who file electronically. Who are the winners in this push to digitization? It may well be the tax and financial services community.

As the 2026 tax season approaches, demand continues to grow for skilled professionals who can deliver accurate, compliant, and value-driven tax and accounting services. Knowledge Bureau’s Tax and Accounting Services Specialist Programs are designed to help you earn an industry-recognized specialized credential and position yourself for high-demand roles in tax preparation and accounting.

Last tax season, only 7% of all Canadian tax filers filed on paper. The CRA is pushing for zero. It continues to steer the holdouts to digitized filing by adding lots of obstacles. Most recently, it is removing almost all the schedules from the tax return package it mails. This seems unfair to people who paper file because they can’t afford a computer and internet, distrust the security of online filing and those who are neither tax or computer literate. Here’s what they are up against:

One interesting and potentially beneficial financial strategy to grow the family’s wealth is to draw up an interspousal loan. With interest rates coming down again the plan may have more appeal again. Here’s how to make it work to stay onside with CRA, and some of the benefits: