Linking “Four Reforms to Make Ottawa Smaller, Smarter, and More Accountable” (October 3, 2025)
On October 3, 2025, my blog post “Four Reforms to Make Ottawa Smaller, Smarter, and More Accountable” set out a reform agenda for Ottawa; one of its central proposals being the automation of tax filing for wage-only earners so they would no longer need to file returns. That idea aimed to reduce the compliance burden on millions of Canadians and shrink the Canada Revenue Agency’s processing load.
On October 10, 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney moved the idea from proposal toward practice. He announced that the CRA will begin preparing pre-filled returns for Canadians with simple, low-income situations so they automatically receive credits and benefits without having to navigate the filing process themselves. The government expects an initial rollout for roughly 1 million people (tax year 2026) with plans to scale to about 5.5 million by 2029.
From Pilot to Principle
Carney’s announcement does not yet deliver full blanket automation for all wage-only taxpayers, but it is a clear step in that direction. The targeted pilot focuses on the simplest cases; people whose financial lives are straightforward and whose entitlement to credits can be determined largely from employer withholdings and existing benefit records. This cautious approach is deliberate: it demonstrates feasibility in a controlled way, builds public trust, and generates institutional momentum for broader change.
What felt aspirational on October 3 now has governmental backing. The logic is hard to argue with; if payroll withholding, CPP and EI remittances, and benefits records already contain the necessary data, forcing those taxpayers to file an annual return is redundant bureaucracy.
Why This Matters
Carney’s partial move matters for several reasons. First, it legitimizes the concept of automated reconciliation and changes expectations inside the CRA and Treasury Board. Second, it creates a proof of concept: implementation will surface technical and administrative lessons; data mismatches, appeal processes, and edge cases, that can be resolved before scaling. Third, it frees CRA capacity by reducing routine processing, allowing staff to be redeployed toward enforcement and complex files. Finally, it lays the groundwork to extend automation to a far larger cohort of wage-only taxpayers.
A Practical Roadmap
To build on this announcement and pursue full automation, the government should expand eligibility stepwise from the pilot group to all wage-only earners with no additional income streams. Integrating employer payroll data and benefit records is essential to ensure accurate reconciliation of tax, credits, CPP, and EI. Changes to CRA staffing should be managed by attrition and reassignment rather than sudden layoffs, with legislative changes to formalize default exemptions for simple filers. Crucially, robust appeal and correction mechanisms must accompany automation so taxpayers have recourse if an automated result is incorrect.
From Vision to Reality
Mr. Carney’s auto-filing announcement validates a reform many have described as common sense: for a large share of Canadians, the annual tax return is redundant. The announcement is not the end of the story; it is an important milestone. If Ottawa expands the program, integrates data thoroughly, and legislates appropriate defaults and protections, most wage-earning Canadians could soon be freed from filing, and the CRA could become a leaner, more focused institution.
Sources:
The Rowanwood Chronicles 