Tax, Borrow or Wait? Something’s Got to Give in Trudeau’s Budget
- Deficit-embracing Canadian PM has run out of room to maneuver
- Weaker economy, Trump uncertainty complicate government math
Something Has to Give in Trudeau's Budget
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Justin Trudeau’s embrace of deficits won him accolades from global investors and policy makers, but not a full year into his first budget and Canada has run out of fiscal runway.
Faced with deficits of almost C$100 billion ($76 billion) in the prime minister’s first mandate -- just over 1 percent of annual gross domestic product -- the tone in Ottawa for months has been one of prudence, penny pinching and scaled-down expectations. Cabinet ministers worry they will get only cents on the dollar for funding requests. Provinces have been frustrated in their requests for health-care transfers.