“When I look at the long-term trend in the debt-to-GDP ratio, it’s trending down,” Bartlett said. Because nominal growth is forecast to be weak in the 2023/24 fiscal year, the ratio might creep up before heading downward again. Bartlett called it “just a blip on the path.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has targeted a declining net debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio each year to assure financial markets that the government has spending under control.
Freeland, who is due to present the budget in March or April, has said she will take a “fiscally prudent” approach that will not hamper the central bank’s fight against inflation, which was almost three times its 2% target in January.
But she has also promised investments in response to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which contains $369 billion in incentives for consumers and businesses to make the low-carbon transition there. She said these…
