Freeland

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland recently touted this year’s foreign direct investment performance but issues remain with business investment and productivity

Ottawa once again did not provide a path to a balanced budget in its latest update on its economic plan

Flying under the radar of Budget 2023’s spending and deficits are a couple of tax hikes on wealthy individuals and corporations that were well telegraphed a year ago.

The federal government increased defence spending in its April 7 budget, but details on how the money will be spent are lacking, as the feds also announced a review of its national defence policy.

The renewal of the Bank of Canada’s mandate, stating that policy decisions will now also emphasize “maximum sustainable employment” while noting that this is “not directly measurable,” has brought out skeptics.

The Liberal government’s $101.4 billion new spend on COVID-relief and growth stimulus unveiled in the April 19 federal budget answers many questions posed last fall, but it still raises many concerns about its intent, timing, impact on economic growth, and the risky debt burden.

A key dynamic for the April 19 federal budget—the first in over two years—will be how the government expects to balance economic support, as the pandemic’s third wave intensifies, with the $70 billion to $100 billion it earmarked in stimulus spending last fall.