OTTAWA - The federal government will unveil its 2022 budget next week under the weight of expectations to deliver unfulfilled election promises, a slew of new social programs as part of a political pact and an international commitment to boost Canada’s military spending.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday she will deliver this year's spending plan on April 7. Freeland has said the document would be focused on spurring economic growth.
The budget will be the first since September's federal election that saw the Liberals returned with their second minority mandate.
"Our government was re-elected on a commitment to grow our economy, make life more affordable and to continue building a Canada where nobody gets left behind," Freeland told the House of Commons on Tuesday.
"That is exactly what we are doing, and that is what we're going to continue to do in the budget."
Freeland’s fall economic update in December projected the government's bottom line would show a deficit of $58.4 billion for the fiscal year that starts in April following two years of even deeper deficits.
That figure didn’t include any new spending promises, including a long list of campaign pledges aimed at making housing more affordable.
Outstanding election promises amount to about $80 billion in new spending, offset by $25 billion in projected new revenues, over the next five years, which an analysis Tuesday from Desjardins estimated would increase the federal deficit by an aver
