After swiping into office on November 2015 promising “sunny ways”, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau now faces a much more different electorate.<\/p>\n
Canadian voices have turned to complain about Trudeau\u2019s numbers, asking for\u00a0explanations on how things went from his 2015 election promise to balance the federal budget this year, to his own finance department\u2019s latest projection: it won\u2019t be balanced until 2040.<\/p>\n
Back in 2015, Trudeau was adamant that under his economic stewardship, Canada would have a balanced budget this year.<\/p>\n
| \n YEAR<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n Trudeau\u2019s promise 2015<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n Reality<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 2016<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $9.7 billion<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $19 billion<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 2017<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $9.5 billion<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $19 billion<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 2018<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $5.7 billion<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $14.9 billion<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 2019<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $1 billion surplus<\/p>\n<\/td>\n $19.8 billion<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Trudeau now says that under his economic leadership, Canada will have a $19.7 billion deficit in 2020, $14.8 billion in 2021, $12.1 billion in 2022, and a\u00a0$9.8 billion deficit in 2023.<\/p>\n Both Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau now insist the more significant figure when it comes to budgetary deficits isn\u2019t the actual size, but Canada\u2019s debt-to-GDP ratio\u2014the lower the better. They also say\u00a0that if the economy goes well, Canada could achieve a balanced budget earlier than forecast, while admitting that if the economy doesn\u2019t go well, it could take even longer.<\/p>\n Trudeau\u2019s 2015 promise of having a balanced budget by this year has long\u00a0gone from being a promise to a political liability, even to this year. According to The Toronto Sun<\/a>,\u00a0Trudeau\u2019s 2019-20 budget didn\u2019t just fail to balance the federal budget during a time of relative economic strength \u2014 and heaven help us when we face the next recession, as we inevitably will. In that budget, Trudeau predicts if he\u2019s returned to power, Canada under his leadership will have a $19.7 billion deficit in 2020-21, $14.8 billion in 2021-22, $12.1 billion in 2022-23 and $9.8 billion in 2023-24, with no end to deficits in sight.<\/p>\n The man who swept into office on November 2015 with the promise of gender equality and a safe environment now faces voters who are much more concerned with the economy.<\/p>\n |