After a two-year wait, the federal Liberals unveiled a budget Monday that has several items specifically for Canada’s North.

The Liberals are promoting a new $10-a-day universal child care subsidized plan as the focal point of the budget, along with continuing COVID-19 measures.

That’s projected to cost $30 billion over five years, and will either make the childcare plans offered by the Yukon Liberals and the Yukon Party redundant or will complement them.

Another $18 billion is being directed to Indigenous communities and $17.6 billion for green development initiatives.

Twelve billion dollars goes toward COVID-19 support initiatives, which will be extended until September. The scale of the support, though, will begin to be cut in July to help wean people off the measures.

Enhanced employment insurance will be increase to 26 weeks.

The budget document itself is 739 pages, making it difficult to digest in one simple sitting.

There is a $101 billion in spending intended to jumpstart the economy, which is still short more than 400,000 jobs from pre-pandemic levels

Yukon Liberal MLA Larry Bagnell was enthusiastic about the budget. He said Tuesday he was particularly happy to see some specific attention paid to the North in it.

“I’m very happy with this,” he told the Star. “It was nice see to see the North mentioned specifically.”

He said it wasn’t clear yet how the federal day care program would mesh with the territorial Liberals’ plan in the Yukon.

Bagnell had a shopping list of items in the massive tome of documents that he thought Yukoners would be impressed with.

Included on that list is was a change to the northern residents’ deduction for travel. Yukoners can now claim up to $1,200 for travel.

Previously, that was available only to a small percentage of territorial residents who qualified for a T-4 slip, generally through their employer. Bagnell said it’s now available to the population at large.

He also pointed to the $200 million the government has allocated for tourism.

Tourism, he said, is the only industry that has been largely shut down through the pandemic, That’s because of the travel restrictions, he said.

Bagnell said there was another $2.4 million set aside for Indigenous tourism that will be useful to the Yukon. A tourism relief fund will be set up with $500 million to spend.

Regional Development Agencies, such as Can Nor, will receive another $700 million in funding.

A further $2 million will go to support the Yukon’s climate action plan.

The continuation of the COVID-19 support measures will also be a boon to Yukoners who are still struggling with the pandemic economy.

Presumptive Premier Sandy Silver is also a fan of the budget.

“We are pleased to see the Government of Canada’s 2021-2022 budget aligns with Yukon’s priorities,” he said in a prepared statement.

“This federal budget will support our efforts to combat climate change, provide affordable childcare to Yukon families, and give certainty to Yukon businesses who continue to face difficult challenges from COVID-19.”

Up to $27.2 billion over five years, starting in 2021-22, will make the federal government an equal partner in the share of childcare costs with provincial and territorial governments, Silver pointed out.

“This builds on our commitment to provide Yukon families with safe, supportive, and affordable childcare options.”

He went on to say, “I am pleased to see that this budget recognizes the impacts of COVID-19 on Canada’s businesses including the tourism sector.

“Support packages worth $1 billion over three years will help Yukon businesses survive the pandemic and plan for even stronger recovery.

“Yukon’s economy continues to grow despite COVID-19,” Silver added.

“Budget 2021 gives us the certainty we need to plan for recovery, and we will continue to look for ways to ensure Yukoners and Yukon businesses are supported.”

The Yukon Party also offered some comment on the budget in a prepared statement.

“The 2021-2022 federal budget was delivered on Monday, with early learning and childcare as a focal point,” the party said.

“This issue was a central issue in the recent territorial election campaign, and we welcome the federal government’s commitment of $30 billion over five years for early learning and childcare.”

This money is compatible with the Yukon Party’s Action Plan, the party said.

“The federal program would cover half the cost of our $27-million early learning and childcare program. The Yukon Party was the only party proposing a truly universal childcare program, and our Action Plan would help children right from birth, and provide $500 per month to each child until they are 6 years old.

“Between the ages of six and 10, families will receive $100 per month per child.”

The Yukon Party also said it welcomes a federal commitment to extend the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy into the fall.

“A new measure to help businesses hire staff – the Canada Recovery Hiring Program – is also a positive, especially for small businesses.

“We have been hearing from local bars and restaurants since last fall, they would like the escalator tax on alcohol frozen during the pandemic to help offset the costs of lost business,” the Yukon Party added.

“This tax automatically increases each year without any vote in Parliament. We believe that is not democratic, and is unnecessarily harming our hospitality sector.

“The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has been advocating for this issue to be included and we were disappointed the federal budget did not address the matter.”

The party was also pleased to note the budget included investment in renewable energy projects in the North, in particular the Atlin, B.C. hydro expansion project.

“The Yukon Party has always advocated for investment in renewable energy and for strong federal support for these types of projects in the North.”

The Star contacted the Yukon Chamber of Commerce and the Yukon Employees’ Union for their reflections on the budget.

Neither organization returned calls.