OTTAWA ¨C Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is prepared to run larger deficits ¡ª growing Canada¡¯s debt by 31.5 billion Canadian dollars ($23.8 billion) more than previously projected over the next four years ¡ª to finance campaign promises if his Liberal government is re-elected.
The Liberals released a costed fiscal plan on Sunday that shows deficits will be C$7.9 billion higher on average every fiscal year over the course of their next mandate should they win power in the Oct. 21 election. That¡¯s despite plans to raise an average C$6.3 billion extra in revenue every year over that time.
The fiscal projection, part of the party¡¯s full campaign platform, suggests the Liberals believe Canadians remain open to the idea the country can afford larger deficits to pay for new spending and tax cuts. The Liberals made a similar bet in 2015, when they broke with Canadian political convention and unveiled plans to deliberately go into deficit to finance spending.
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