Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of the Treasury Chrystia Freeland confirmed the date of the budget on Tuesday during the question period. “Our government has been re-elected with a commitment to grow our economy, make life more affordable, and continue to build a Canada where no one is left behind,” Freeland told the House of Commons. “That is exactly what we are doing. And that is what we are going to continue to do in the budget that I am going to present to this House.” WATCH: Freeland announces budget release date
Freeland will release the federal budget on April 7
Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced that she will submit her next federal budget on April 7. 1:34
Government sources told CBC News that the budget would be a “return to basics” document after two years of extraordinary government spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new budget is expected to address new economic and geopolitical uncertainties following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Defense Secretary Anita Anand said earlier this month that she would present spending options to the cabinet that would boost Canada’s defense budget.
NATO has called on all members to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense. Canada currently spends about 1.4 percent of its GDP on defense, which is one of the lowest in NATO.
The budget will also be the first major government document unveiled since the announcement of a “supply and confidence” agreement between the Liberals and the NDP that will maintain the minority government until at least 2025.
The agreement includes commitments to many new federal initiatives, including a national dental care program for low-income Canadians and steps toward creating a national pharmaceutical care program.
Ottawa has also now entered into $ 10-a-day childcare financing agreements with all provinces and territories – another large-scale project that is expected to have a significant cost.
Ongoing work to meet Canada’s emission reduction targets should also be a key element in the next budget. The government on Tuesday released an updated plan to reduce emissions by 2030, including $ 9.1 billion in new spending.
Ed Fast, a Conservative economics critic, predicted that the government would use the budget to pursue what it called “free spending methods.”
“This budget must have a plan to tackle inflation, first. It must address the issue of the long-term sustainability of our huge debt that we have accumulated over time, and it must address the issue of returning our budget to “balance,” he told reporters.
The government announced in last year’s budget that the national deficit had soared to $ 354.2 billion due in large part to spending on health care and social services during the pandemic.
