Federal debt to reach $1.2 Trillion.
Canada’s budget deficit is set to be a whopping $343 BILLION this fiscal year.
It’s a number that almost defies imagination, and brings government spending as a percentage of GDP to levels that are matched only by the war economy of the World War Two era.
Finance minister Bill Morneau unveiled the numbers in a ‘fiscal snapshot,’ with the government still refusing to put together a full budget.
“The government has taken a position that we need to support Canadians … and the federal government taking on the debt meant challenged Canadians didn’t have to take on nearly as much debt in their households. We think it was the appropriate thing to do,” said Morneau.
Among the numbers shared by the government, we see that the federal debt will reach $1.2 Trillion, while the oft-touted debt-to-GDP ratio will hit 49%, a huge surge from the 31% it was at last year.
Over two-thirds of the deficit is due to government spending programs amid the crisis ($212 billion), while $81.3 billion is due to lost revenue.
Concerningly, the government projects a 6.5% decline in GDP this year, while seeing a recovery of 5.5% next year. However, because that projected recovery is based of the already-smaller projected economy next year, that means even a big boost in growth will leave the economy smaller and weaker than it was going into the crisis.
Canada also faces the highest unemployment rate in the G7, and we are ‘led’ by a government that has created an anti-business environment, which could make recovery even more difficult.
And of course, we must remember where responsibility for this crisis and all the damage done ultimately lies: With the brutal Chinese Communist Party that lied to the world and let the CCP Virus infect the world.
You can watch Morneau’s announcement and the Opposition reaction below:
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
