Federal Liberals to deliver budget update on Dec. 14
BNN Bloomberg
The federal government will release a fiscal update on Dec. 14 that should reveal a better-than-expected picture of Canada’s finances.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government will release a fiscal update on Dec. 14 that should reveal a better-than-expected picture of Canada’s finances.
Trudeau’s deputy, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, announced the date in parliament Thursday. “We know it’s important to Canadians that we are careful and transparent with our nation’s finances,” she said.
Justin Trudeau elbow bumps Chrystia Freeland during an Ottawa news conference on Oct. 21. The current inflationary environment -- while bad for consumers and workers -- is having some short-term benefits for government finances, with rising prices for things like oil fueling gains in corporate profits and tax revenue.
As a result, national income is on track to be about $80 billion (US$62.4 billion) on average more annually over the next three years than projected in the government’s April budget, which means just over $10 billion per year in additional revenue for the government.
It’s completely a price effect. Factoring out inflation, things look less rosy for the economy, with real production actually growing more slowly than the government predicted in April.
The additional revenue cushion, however, is already allocated to new spending. During the campaign for the Sept. 20 election, Trudeau’s government pledged an additional $78 billion in new expenditures over five years that will leave the fiscal track little changed, despite the higher revenue.
