Freeland facing calls to prioritize economic growth as budget date confirmed
CTV
The 2023 federal budget will be presented on Tuesday, March 28, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Friday, with stakeholders calling for the massive fiscal document to include a plan to promote economic growth.
The 2023 federal budget will be presented on Tuesday, March 28, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Friday, with stakeholders calling for the massive fiscal document to include a plan to promote economic growth.
Rising in the House of Commons to confirm the date—per tradition—Freeland said the full presentation of the state of the Canadian economy and further Liberal spending plans will be focused on clean energy, making life more affordable, and job growth.
With anticipation that the economy will slow in the months ahead, potentially leading to a recession, the budget will likely continue to show what the Liberals consider to be fiscal restraint as the Bank of Canada tries to get inflation under control.
Though with Canadians and businesses feeling the pinch of high interest rates, it’s possible the federal government could be looking for ways to help alleviate the pressures being felt by the higher cost of living and housing prices.
Within minutes of the news breaking, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was calling for Freeland to cap spending, cut taxes, and reverse the federal government's "inflationary deficits that are driving up interest rates."
The last time Freeland presented a federal budget, in April 2022, the Bank of Canada's interest rate was at 0.50; it currently sits at 4.50.
Expected to be included in Budget 2023 will be the recently-finalized $196 billion health-care funding deals with the provinces, as well measures aimed at ensuring Canadian companies can be resilient in the face of a challenging economic landscape and competitive global markets.
