Budget Watchdog Sees Ottawa Missing Balance Target by a Year
The watchdog says inconsistent spending classifications could delay the target and complicate the fall budget, with balance now projected for 2029-30.
- On Thursday, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report criticizing the Liberal government's budget framework for using inconsistent definitions to divide day-to-day operating expenses from capital investments.
- Prime Minister Mark Carney announced at last week's Canada Investment Summit that Ottawa is on track to balance the operating budget one year early, but the PBO's projections suggest the target remains two years away.
- The PBO described classifications as "subjective," noting that Agricultural Clean Technology and Agricultural Climate Solutions at the same department receive different treatment despite similar investment goals.
- John Fragos, spokesperson for Finance Minister Philippe Champagne, defended the framework, stating it "provides a stricter guardrail than traditional debt-to-GDP anchors" because it targets spending levels rather than ratios.
- While the government focuses on operating budgets, it has not set a timeline for eliminating the $65.3-billion federal deficit, and the PBO notes the framework lacks a constraint on total debt accumulation.
40 Articles
40 Articles
PBO says Ottawa will miss operating budget target by a year, two years behind Carney’s claim
Parliamentary Budget Officer Annette Ryan reported Thursday that Ottawa is not on track to balance its operating budget until 2029-30, a year past the 2028-29 target and two years later than Prime Minister Mark Carney claimed at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, where he said the goal would be met early in 2027-28.
meadowlakeNOW
Definitions in Ottawa’s budget framework are inconsistent: fiscal watchdog
OTTAWA — Ottawa's fiscal watchdog says the way the Liberal government defines certain types of spending in its new budget framework can be inconsistent and contradictory. The Liberals under Prime Minister Mark Carney introduced a new budget framework t...
Winnipeg Free Press
Definitions in Ottawa's budget framework are inconsistent: fiscal watchdog
OTTAWA - Ottawa's fiscal watchdog says the way the Liberal government defines certain types of spending in its new budget framework can be inconsistent and contradictory.
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