Despite claiming a return to fiscal responsibility, most governments across Canada continue to increase spending with no signs of a balanced budget in sight, argues Jake Fuss, associate director for fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute.
“Projections for government revenues increased significantly across the country due to unexpectedly high commodity prices and a faster-than-anticipated economic rebound from COVID,” he said. “The boost in revenue would normally be welcome news since governments could use the additional money to reduce their deficits or balance their budget entirely.”
“For example, 2022 revenues are $30.5 billion higher than the Trudeau government projected in last year’s budget. The federal government did not reduce its deficit by much for 2022 and introduced an additional $22.4 billion in program spending relative to the previous budget,” he added.
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