The federal government rejected an independent commission’s recommendation to raise judicial salaries a day before releasing its first budget under Prime Minister Mark Carney this week, citing slowed economic growth, new expenditures such as increased pay for military members, potential public sector job losses, and other factors.

The government also dismissed the commission’s argument that low salaries made it challenging to fill judicial vacancies with talent from private practice, describing a historic spike in vacancies between 2021 and 2024 as “now fully remedied.”

Released Tuesday, the 2025 federal budget allocates $81.8 billion over five years to “rebuild, rearm, and reinvest in the Canadian Armed Forces,” which includes recruitment, pay raises, the expansion of ammunition and t

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