7 things to watch for in today's federal budget
Finance Minister Bill Morneau's second federal budget isn't expected to match last year's big-ticket spending commitments.
The big Liberal moves for the middle class rolled out for 2016. The 12-year infrastructure plan was the headline of the fall economic statement.
The cupboard is bare now. Liberals are borrowing for the foreseeable future.
So, what's likely in 2017? Smaller, strategic moves. Here's what to look for.
A rosier economic outlook, but ...
There's wind lifting Morneau's sails heading into this budget. It's never a bad thing to have headlines about the Canadian economy "beating expectations."
His challenge now? Keeping things up.
Despite ambitious spending plans, Liberals said they'd keep the federal debt manageable relative to the strength of the economy, as measured by its gross domestic product. They aim to return the federal debt-to-GDP ratio to 31 per cent in five years, where it was when they took over in 2015-16.
But the global economy offers little reassurance. So one of the themes Wednesday may be "wait and see." Expect some decisions to be punted to the fall economic update, or beyond.
Morneau built a large contingency reserve ($6 billion) into the 2016 budget calculations, and then took flak for eliminating that risk amount from his deficit calculations last fall. Will a large contingency reserve return for the 2017 budget projections?
Revised infrastructure figures
The 12-year, $180-billion infrastructure plan needs updating.
The parliamentary budget officer's recent work suggests that, so far, less money made it out the door than originally anticipated.
There's an upside to this — a smaller deficit for 2016-17, for starters. But funding can be reallocated for future years.
7 things to watch for in today's federal budget - Politics - CBC News
Finance Minister Bill Morneau's second federal budget isn't expected to match last year's big-ticket spending commitments.
The big Liberal moves for the middle class rolled out for 2016. The 12-year infrastructure plan was the headline of the fall economic statement.
The cupboard is bare now. Liberals are borrowing for the foreseeable future.
So, what's likely in 2017? Smaller, strategic moves. Here's what to look for.
A rosier economic outlook, but ...
There's wind lifting Morneau's sails heading into this budget. It's never a bad thing to have headlines about the Canadian economy "beating expectations."
His challenge now? Keeping things up.
Despite ambitious spending plans, Liberals said they'd keep the federal debt manageable relative to the strength of the economy, as measured by its gross domestic product. They aim to return the federal debt-to-GDP ratio to 31 per cent in five years, where it was when they took over in 2015-16.
But the global economy offers little reassurance. So one of the themes Wednesday may be "wait and see." Expect some decisions to be punted to the fall economic update, or beyond.
Morneau built a large contingency reserve ($6 billion) into the 2016 budget calculations, and then took flak for eliminating that risk amount from his deficit calculations last fall. Will a large contingency reserve return for the 2017 budget projections?
Revised infrastructure figures
The 12-year, $180-billion infrastructure plan needs updating.
The parliamentary budget officer's recent work suggests that, so far, less money made it out the door than originally anticipated.
There's an upside to this — a smaller deficit for 2016-17, for starters. But funding can be reallocated for future years.
7 things to watch for in today's federal budget - Politics - CBC News
