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Canada on track to miss fiscal targets, business group warns
One of Canada’s largest business groups says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is unlikely to follow through on its latest pledge to control its budget shortfalls.
In November, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland added new fiscal objectives during the government’s update of the country’s finances, including a goal of keeping deficits below one per cent of gross domestic product, starting in the 2026-27 fiscal year.
Canada has a lower government debt burden than many other advanced economies, and the new targets play an important role in showing fiscal restraint, the government has argued. Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem called the new guardrails “helpful” to monetary policy.
But the government has systematically disregarded its past fiscal goals, raising doubts about its latest promise,…
