Freeland to present 2024 federal budget, promising billions in new spending
CTV
Canadians will learn Tuesday the entirety of the federal Liberal government's new spending plans, and how they intend to pay for them, when Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tables the 2024 federal budget.
Canadians will learn Tuesday the entirety of the federal Liberal government's new spending plans – and how they intend to pay for them – when Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tables the 2024 federal budget.
Vowing to not grow the deficit while maintaining other fiscal guardrails, heading into budget day there are strong indications that in order to help finance what's been a weeks-long blitz resulting in nearly $40 billion in promised measures, the Liberals will unveil new or higher taxes for wealthier Canadians or corporate Canada.
Remarking on the expectation of some form of individual wealth tax, and or excess profit taxes in today's budget, former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge said the fiscal document is "likely to be the worst" in decades and "pointing us in the wrong direction," when it comes to economic growth.
However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was emphatic on Monday, while speaking to a business crowd about what's to come, that his government feels now is the time to make investments in housing, job growth, and other affordability measures preoccupying the minds of many pinched millennials and Generation Z.
"Millennials and Gen Z now make up the majority of Canada's labour force. They are our economy … They now feel like middle class stability is out of reach. We need to meet this moment, because that can't be allowed to happen," Trudeau said.
The Liberals have ruled out increasing taxes on the middle class, and have stated they're mindful of not knocking the Bank of Canada off its track towards reducing interest rates.
The fall economic statement projected the deficit for 2023-24 to be $40 billion, decreasing slightly in 2024-25 to $38.4 billion, and then holding steady at $38.3 billion in 2025-26.
