OTTAWA – The Canadian government will find it hard to balance your budget by 2019/20 as promised when the economy continues to struggle, Pm Justin Trudeau said in an interview published on Thursday.
Trudeau, talking with the French-language La Presse newspaper, also confirmed your budget deficit within the 2016/17 fiscal year would be larger than the $10 billion his new Liberal government initially dedicated to.
Trudeau won power last October promising to operate three consecutive modest budget deficits to help fund infrastructure spending he says is required to boost a struggling economy.
At the time he explained the deficit would be eliminated by 2019/20, but since then the cost of oil – a significant Canadian export – has fallen a lot more than expected, curbing growth.
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Asked concerning the commitment to balance the budget by 2019/20, Trudeau replied: “If you consider the growth forecasts for the next three or four years, that will be difficult.”
Trudeau added, however, that governments often missed the target when predicting growth 4 years out.
“Investing in infrastructure and putting money into the pockets of middle class families have a positive effect on growth and we think we can alter the rate of growth, it’s quite feasible,” he said.
Liberal officials told Reuters recently poor people state of the economy meant the 2016/17 deficit would be bigger than initially promised.
“Yes, we’ll exceed $10 billion. Because when much? We’re examining that now,” Trudeau told La Presse.
? Thomson Reuters 2016
