With no end to federal deficits in sight, budget spells dismay for some economists

Even as the Liberals keep a tight focus on new clean-tech and health-care spending, the federal budget released Tuesday still projects deficits for the next five years.

Many economists are expressing disappointment in those fiscal projections, noting the government could be in trouble if the economy slows more than it is expected to — and saying the Liberals could've saved themselves headaches with better planning in previous years. 

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland promised that Tuesday's budget would be fiscally restrained in light of a slowing economy that could weigh on government coffers.

But the fiscal projections in the budget show the deficit has been revised upward since the fall, showing no end in sight for deficits despite the fall budget update in November projecting a balanced budget in 2027-28.