More notice of bank closures and easier cheque cashing: 5 nuggets buried in Tuesday's budget

Sprinkled throughout Tuesday’s budget and its digital-only annexes are several measures that could impact the lives of many Canadians.

Here are five of the most interesting.

Advance notice of bank branch closures

In recent years, many banks have been closing branches – something that hits particularly hard in some rural areas of the country, where it can be a long drive from one branch to another. The Canadian Bankers Association says the number of bank branches dropped by nine per cent over a decade from 6,205 in 2012 to 5,656 in 2022. Since then, the number has continued to drop.

The budget will amend the Bank Act to “require that banks provide public notice of branch closures on their websites" and "to prohibit the charging of certain account switching or closure fees from the time