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 in a report. “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.”
Fuss says that as an example, the revenues in 2022 are $30.5 billion higher than what the government projected in last year’s budget. But the government didn’t reduce the deficit by much in 2022, and instead introduction an “additional $22.4 billion in program spending relative to the previous budget.”
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