Urgent need for a fiscal plan and a pathway to balanced budgets.

Conservatives put forward a motion calling on the Liberal government to introduce a fiscal plan which includes a pathway to balanced budgets.

This Prime Minister has added more debt than all other Prime Ministers combined and has no plan to balance the budget and control his inflationary deficits, which are driving up the cost of the goods we buy and the interest we pay.  Canada’s federal debt for the 2023-24 fiscal year is projected to reach $1.22 trillion. That is nearly $81,000 per household in Canada. 

The cost of servicing Canada’s enormous debt continues to grow. The cost to service Canada’s debt this year (2023-2024) is projected to be $43.9 billion by the government but $46.4 billion by the PBO, increasing through the 2028-2029 fiscal year. This is nearly double the costs in 2021-2022, when debt servicing costs were $24.5 billion. Justin Trudeau’s inflationary spending has driven up interest rates, which has driven up the cost of Canada’s debt servicing.

Who benefits from inflation?

During debate on the common sense approach from our motion, I asked Liberal MPs who benefits from inflation – and no surprise, they refuse to acknowledge that the Government is a huge beneficiary of higher inflation.

Debt-to-GDP Ratio lesson urgently needed

In Budget 2022, Minister Freeland said that Canada’s debt-to-GDP ratio was her fiscal anchor, and debt-to-GDP must decline for Canada’s finance to be sustainable:  

“Let me be very clear: We are absolutely determined that our debt-to-GDP ratio must continue to decline. Our deficits must continue to be reduced. The pandemic debt we incurred to keep Canadians safe and solvent must—and will—be paid down. This is our fiscal anchor. This is a line we shall not cross. It will ensure that our finances remain sustainable.” 

Christia Freeland, Minister of Finance, Budget 2022

According to not just the current Finance Minister but also former Liberal Finance Ministers Bill Morneau and John Manley, Justin Trudeau’s inflationary debt and deficits are unsustainable.  

There is no path to balanced budgets.

There is no path to balance in Canada’s budget projections. The deficit for 2022-2023 is up to $43 billion. In 2023-2024 the Government projected their deficit would be $40.1 billion, but the PBO says it will be closer to $46.5 billion.

Despite the pandemic being over, government spending is still up over $120 billion compared to pre-pandemic spending levels. In 2019 Canada’s program spending was $323 billion. For 2023-2024 spending is projected to be $447 billion.