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‘The Trudeau government continues to mismanage our finances and that means more money wasted on interest charges, higher cost of living and more debt that Canadians’ kids and grandkids will have to pay back,’ the Canadian Taxpayers Federation reacted.
(LifeSiteNews) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government deficit is set to reach $46.5 billion this fiscal year while economic growth will remain stagnant, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) predicts.
On October 13, the Office of the PBO published the Liberal government’s budget deficit for fiscal year 2023-24, which is expected to reach $46.5 billion, $6.4 billion higher than was projected in April.
“The Trudeau government continues to mismanage our finances and that means more money wasted on interest charges, higher cost of living and more debt that Canadians’ kids and grandkids will have to pay back,” Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) federal director Franco Terrazzano reacted.
“As bad as the budget was, the independent budget watchdog is showing that federal finances are in even worse shape,” Terrazzano added.
According to the PBO’s estimation, federal debt-to-GDP ratio will rise to 42.6 per cent in 2023-24, which is up from 40.9 per cent in 2022-23.
“The feds have already blown through their budgeted deficit projection by more than $6 billion and we’re only halfway through the budget year,” Terrazzano said.
“And the government’s been solemnly signaling the bond rating agencies that it would get the debt-to-GDP ratio going down, but the PBO shows it’s going up,” he added.
According to the PBO, the increase in the budget is a response to new spending measures announced by the Trudeau government, amounting to $28.6 billion over six years. Trudeau’s new projects include a $13 billion investment for a Volkswagen EV plant, $16 billion for a Stellantis EV battery plant and the GST rental rebate.
The PBO further projected that the Canadian economy will experience zero growth in the second half of 2023, amid high interest rates by the Bank of Canada.
Similarly, spending is expected to remain low until mid-2024, while GDP is expected to contract by 0.2 per cent in 2023.