With seven months to go before the federal election, Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s plan will spread the cash around, mostly directed at Canadians’ pocketbooks
OTTAWA — The final budget of the Trudeau government’s mandate will scatter billions in fresh spending — on everything from pharmacare to retraining workers to first-time home buyers — as the Liberals commit to an electoral fight that pits their deficit-spending vision versus the Conservatives’ balanced-books approach.
With seven months to go before the election, Morneau’s plan will spread the cash around. Most of it will be aimed at Canadians’ pocketbooks. “The opposition would like to see us make cuts very rapidly — their idea is balance the budget at any cost,” Morneau told a news conference Tuesday after being asked about his deficits.
— $4.6 billion over five years to help more Canadians afford and access skills training to keep up with the rapidly evolving workforce— $1.8 billion over four years to enhance the guaranteed income supplement for low-income seniors— $500 million per year, starting in 2022-23, to help cover the cost of drugs for rare diseases.
After the 2015 election, the Trudeau government abandoned the promise, arguing more investments were needed to lift Canada’s long-term economic growth. Instead, Morneau has focused on lowering the net debt-to-GDP ratio — a measure of how burdensome the national debt is — each year even as the actual debt has increased.
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