Budget Watchdog Sees Ottawa Missing Balance Target by a Year
The Spin
Pro-government narrative
The Liberals are making headway in bringing day-to-day spending under control, with forecasts suggesting the books will balance a year earlier than expected. However, the government will not achieve this through crude austerity, but rather by unlocking the dynamism of the Canadian economy through smart capital investment that will transform the country into an economic powerhouse.
Government-critical narrative
Unsurprisingly, the Liberals are failing to bring spending under control. No matter how many speeches, summits and trillion-dollar promises, Carney cannot balance the books if he won't cut spending. Instead, he should take a leaf from the Conservatives, who will restore fiscal responsibility by cutting CA$150 billion of wasteful spending to cut taxes and lower inflation.
