Federal deficits won’t be as deep as Liberals’ outlook: budget watchdog
OTTAWA — The parliamentary budget office projects federal deficits in each of the next five years won't be as deep as those in Ottawa's forecasts.
A new report by the budget watchdog also contests the Liberal government's estimate that the public books will show a shortfall for 2015-16.
The analysis says Ottawa will run a $700-million surplus in 2015-16 as opposed to the $5.4-billion deficit projected in last month's federal budget.
The report says the federal books are on track to add a total of $90.8 billion to the public debt over the next half-decade — lower than the federal government's projection of $113.2 billion over the same period.
The budget office is expecting Ottawa to show a $20.5-billion deficit this year, which is $8.9 billion smaller than the Liberal government's prediction.
The Liberals have been accused of deliberately lowering expectations in their fiscal outlook by including larger-than-usual risk adjustments of $6 billion per year.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau has argued that incorporating the thicker layer of prudence in the budget is necessary because forecasters have been wrong in recent years
The parliamentary budget office expects the federal debt-to-GDP ratio to start falling in 2017-18, which it says indicates the federal fiscal structure is sustainable over the long term.
The office also projects Canada's real gross domestic product — a common measure of economic growth — to expand 1.8 per cent this year, 2.5 per cent in 2017 and average 1.6 per cent between 2018 and 2020.
Federal deficits won’t be as deep as Liberals’ outlook: budget watchdog | National Newswatch
OTTAWA — The parliamentary budget office projects federal deficits in each of the next five years won't be as deep as those in Ottawa's forecasts.
A new report by the budget watchdog also contests the Liberal government's estimate that the public books will show a shortfall for 2015-16.
The analysis says Ottawa will run a $700-million surplus in 2015-16 as opposed to the $5.4-billion deficit projected in last month's federal budget.
The report says the federal books are on track to add a total of $90.8 billion to the public debt over the next half-decade — lower than the federal government's projection of $113.2 billion over the same period.
The budget office is expecting Ottawa to show a $20.5-billion deficit this year, which is $8.9 billion smaller than the Liberal government's prediction.
The Liberals have been accused of deliberately lowering expectations in their fiscal outlook by including larger-than-usual risk adjustments of $6 billion per year.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau has argued that incorporating the thicker layer of prudence in the budget is necessary because forecasters have been wrong in recent years
The parliamentary budget office expects the federal debt-to-GDP ratio to start falling in 2017-18, which it says indicates the federal fiscal structure is sustainable over the long term.
The office also projects Canada's real gross domestic product — a common measure of economic growth — to expand 1.8 per cent this year, 2.5 per cent in 2017 and average 1.6 per cent between 2018 and 2020.
Federal deficits won’t be as deep as Liberals’ outlook: budget watchdog | National Newswatch
