OTTAWA – Justin Trudeau is talking up the need for more federal spending to help the economy on the day experts are sharing their downgraded forecasts together with his government.
The prime minister says the country’s economic woes mean it’s more important than ever for the Liberal government to spend on growth-generating projects like infrastructure.
Trudeau’s remarks in Toronto came soon after several private-sector economists shared their downgraded forecasts with Finance Minister Bill Morneau in a meeting just a couple kilometres away.
Related
- A balanced budget by 2019/20 might be hard to find if economy continues to struggle, Trudeau admitsOttawa talking to pension funds about purchasing infrastructureFinance Minister Bill Morneau to present federal budget week of March 21: sources
-
-
-
Conference Board of Canada chief economist Glen Hodgson says he gave Morneau a 2016 growth forecast of just 1.7 per cent – one of the very most optimistic predictions in the room.
The Liberal government has promised to operate deficits within the coming years to be able to spend billions on stimulus like infrastructure projects, so it expects can create jobs and help revive the economy.
But while Trudeau acknowledges government finances are even tighter compared to what they were a couple of months ago, he has not indicated what will become from the Liberals’ many non-economic spending vows.
For decades, federal finance ministers have used typically private-sector economic forecasts because the first step toward their fiscal plans.
