Canada's Financial Update

Vincent J. Curtis

18 Dec 2019


Cutting through the sunny nonsense, you reach the conclusion that Canadians were sold a bill of goods in the 2015 election.

In 2015, Justin (Sunny Ways) Trudeau promised three straight years of $10 billion deficits followed by a return to balance in FY 2019.  The purpose of the deficits was to stimulate the economy.  Well, the facts are in, and none of those promises were kept.

The deficits were all far in excess of $10 billion.  This year’s, promised to be zero but the year began with the deficit $14 billion, increased to 19 billion, and has in fact exploded to nearly $27 billion – in an allegedly growing economy.  Which brings us to the second point of deception, the lack of growth.

After peaking briefly in the summer of 2017 at an annualized rate of over three percent, the actual rates of GDP growth has ranged near two percent, or slightly below.  Canada experienced negative GDP growth in October.  These rates are no better than what they were under Stephen Harper, who was fastidious about keeping the budget in balance.  So the theory of trading deficits for growth proved to be arrant nonsense, as should have been obvious from the source the promise was coming from.

The Liberals have lost control of spending, and now offer the chestnut of keeping debt to GDP ratio constant.  Nonsense.  They are weakening Canada's financial position in return for nothing.  Trust-fund babies like Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself, aren’t trusted to handle their own money, and shouldn’t be trusted to handle Canada's.
-30-