History
While several Canadian parliamentary traditions have their origins in Britain, new shoes on budget day does not. Donald M. Fleming in 1960 was the first Minister of Finance known to follow a practice that was already being described in the media as "traditional", with one account claiming that the tradition of wearing "something new" began as early as Sir John Rose's first budget of 1868.
Walter L. Gordon, the next Finance Minister, did not wear new shoes for his three budgets from 1963 to 1965, but his successor Mitchell Sharp wore new shoes on budget day in 1966 after he was told that doing so was a tradition. The following year there were two budgets, one in June where he wore new shoes and one in November. Sharp wore the same pair of shoes in November, as budget day fell on St. Andrew's Day. He said, "being a Scot, and this being the second budget I have presented this year, I am wearing the same shoes that I wore when I presented the budget on June 1."
Following Sharp, Edgar Benson wore a new pair of shoes on budget day in 1968, although he said, "He didn't buy them just for the budget." The following year he did not wear new shoes when delivering the budget, saying jokingly that he couldn't afford them, and in 1970 proudly displayed his worn soles on budget day.
Whether the next two Finance Ministers, John Turner and Donald Macdonald, delivered their budgets with new shoes is unknown. Macdonald's successor Jean Chrétien wore new shoes for both of his budgets of 1978. The next minister, John Crosbie, wore used mukluks in 1979 for his only budget. Following Crosbie, whether Allan MacEachen wore new shoes is unknown, but in 1984 his successor, Marc Lalonde, did for his second budget. Michael Wilson wore new shoes for the first four of the six budgets he presented beginning in 1985.
Wilson's successor, Donald Mazankowski, did not wear new shoes for his only one, in 1992. Paul Martin wore new work boots he received as a gift from Chrétien for his first budget, in 1994, but did not wear new footwear with subsequent budgets. John Manley did not wear new shoes for the one budget he tabled, in 2003. His successor, Ralph Goodale, released two budgets in 2004 and 2005, and wore new shoes both times.
The current Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, wore new shoes for his first budget in 2006. For the second one, instead of wearing new shoes, he bought ice skates for his son. and resoled his shoes to show that his 2008 budget was fiscally prudent. Flaherty did not purchase new shoes for either of his two 2011 budgets, but did so in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013.
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