SAINT ANDREWS, N.B. — The federal Liberals will begin the process of planning out the year ahead and framing the size and scope of their first budget later today.
A working dinner tonight kicks off a retreat for cabinet ministers who will meet for the first time in 2016 after a short sitting of the House of Commons in December.
Cabinet ministers will have a full day of meetings Monday before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a handful of ministers travel overseas to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum.
The economy will be on the agenda for the cabinet meeting with a slumping loonie, declining oil prices and disappointing job numbers.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau has been hearing concerns about the economy from Canadians during his pre-budget consultations and has tried to calm frayed nerves by pointing to the Liberal election platform.
Insiders have told The Canadian Press the Liberals are "actively" considering speeding up delivery of the more than $5 billion in extra infrastructure spending the government pledged in the election to help stimulate economic growth through 2016.
The Liberals had vowed to run deficits of no more than $10 billion this year and next, but have since shifted to calling the figure a target.
The federal budget is expected to be delivered in mid- to late-March.
