From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

In his latest commentary, Lee Harding slams the Carney government for skipping the federal budget while plowing ahead with tax cuts and spending sprees. With no clear plan and ballooning deficits, Canadians wonder how these promises will be paid for—hint: more debt. Harding warns that Ottawa’s “figure it out later” approach is reckless, echoing past fiscal blunders that still haunt taxpayers today. Brace yourselves—this bill is coming.

The Carney government skipped the budget, but not the spending. And you’re on the hook

What’s better?

To spend and save without a plan, or to do so with accurate information and a focused strategy? The federal government has chosen the former, and one thing is certain: Canadians are going to pay.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced on May 14 that the newly elected Carney government wouldn’t table a spring budget, opting instead to take things “step-by-step.” Parliament will sit until June 20, but aside from the throne speech, the only stated priority is to lower the first income tax bracket from 15 per cent to 14. That would slightly lower federal income taxes for most working Canadians by reducing the rate on the first $55,000 of income, saving up to about $550 a year.

That sounds good—until you ask how it’s being paid for. Without a budget, Canadians have no clear picture of the trade-offs or long-term costs.

Tabling a budget is the government’s formal presentation of its financial plan to Parliament. It outlines spending priorities, revenue forecasts and deficit projections for the year ahead. Skipping this step is no small matter.

“Cut taxes first, figure out how to pay later” isn’t the worst way to roll the dice, but it is far from the best. And we already know how Ottawa will cover the shortfall: more deficit spending. Canada hasn’t seen a balanced federal budget in nearly 20 years, and there’s no sign of one on the horizon.

Canadians will repay this tax cut with interest, sacrificing tomorrow’s services for today’s soundbites. This approach lacks fiscal prudence; doing it without a budget only compounds the recklessness.

Ottawa rarely fails to table a budget. The last time was during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020. The results were disastrous: public debt surged and remains with us today. That was an unprecedented global crisis. There is no such emergency in 2025—only political calculation.

Carney claimed during the election campaign that proposed U.S. tariffs placed Canadians in “the greatest crisis of our lifetimes.” Yet, days later, he stood alongside U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, smiling for photos and flashing a thumbs-up. For perspective, imagine Volodymyr Zelenskyy flying to Moscow to do the same with Vladimir Putin.

Some may argue the spring election left too little time before summer to draft a budget. But that doesn’t hold water. The Harper Conservatives won a majority on May 2, 2011, and still tabled a budget that spring. Carney’s cabinet includes many Trudeau-era veterans, and the Department of Finance remains staffed by experienced civil servants. The Liberals can and should produce a budget.

Parliament has even sat in July to pass urgent legislation. In 2020, MPs returned on July 20 to approve the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. In 1988, they stayed until July 7 to pass the Canada–U.S. Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. There is precedent—and there is time.

Even when the Liberals do present budgets, they’ve only deepened Canada’s fiscal hole. On Dec. 31, 2015, the net federal debt stood at $693.8 billion. By the end of 2024, it had climbed to $953.9 billion—an increase of 37.4 per cent in just nine years. These debts will likely never be repaid.

A 2022 Fraser Institute study estimated that a 16-year-old Canadian will pay $29,663 in income taxes over her lifetime just to cover interest on the federal debt—money that won’t fund services but simply keep creditors happy.

The Liberals’ current platform is thin on discipline. It includes income tax cuts worth $4.2 billion and a GST exemption on first-time home purchases, costing $383 million. But these are overshadowed by broader spending.

Last year’s budget outlined $538 billion in spending, with $40 billion funded through borrowing. By fall, that deficit had grown past $60 billion. This year’s platform will make matters worse by $46.8 billion, even after factoring in $20 billion in retaliatory tariff revenues.

If the government struggles to follow its own budget when it sets one, how much damage might it do without one? Plenty.

Parliament must still approve any new spending through supplementary estimates—requests for additional funds beyond what’s already authorized. But without the context of a full budget, MPs will be asked to approve billions in spending without a clear picture of what’s affordable.

What would be refreshing, though unlikely, is for non-Liberal MPs to approve only measures that strengthen the Canadian economy, military and policing. They could reject everything else and argue that responsible spending can’t occur without a formal financial plan.

Governments should manage national finances like a responsible household: with a clear budget and the discipline to live within their means. Unfortunately, the Carney government appears unwilling—or unable—to do either.

Lee Harding is a research fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

By Lee Harding

In a fiery takedown of Alberta sovereigntists, Jann Arden may have poured gas on the sovereignty fire instead of dousing it. Lee Harding argues that her vulgar swipe ignored Alberta’s raw deal in Confederation, from lopsided equalization to federal overreach, and only deepens Western alienation. Rather than shaming Albertans into silence, her outburst might push them closer to the exit.

The singer’s foul-mouthed tirade won’t shame Alberta into silence. It’ll only push the province further toward the door

Jann Arden’s recent tirade against sovereigntist Albertans will probably do more to motivate them than set them back.

In an online rant, the Calgary-born-and-raised singer lowered public discourse a few notches.

“Hey, Alberta. Hey, you bunch of fu-king separatist wackos. How you doing? Feeling good about yourselves? You’re an embarrassment to this country. Everything you have, everything that you have enjoyed, cherished and benefited from, comes from being part of one of the greatest countries on the planet.”

Ha! Arden only embarrassed herself with her rudeness and ignorance.

Canada has been milking Alberta for a long time. In a 2024 study, the Fraser Institute showed that from 2007 to 2022, Albertans contributed $244.6 billion more in taxes and other payments to the federal government than they received in federal spending, more than five times as much as British Columbians or Ontarians. The other seven provinces were net takers.

Alberta is carrying Canada’s load by doing many things right, only to get zero respect and little benefit in return. For the past 10 years, Ottawa has done everything it can to undermine the energy sector through regulation and taxation, and encroach on provincial jurisdiction through legislation. Rather than feeding and protecting the goose that lays the golden eggs, it would rather pluck out its feathers.

The imbalance is nothing new. Since Confederation, most Canadian provinces have enjoyed jurisdiction over their natural resources. However, Alberta and Saskatchewan didn’t get that until 1930. When equalization began in 1957, Alberta received payments for eight years and never again. Quebec has been paid every year.

Ottawa went the route of more taxation, programs and debt, while Alberta took a more conservative approach. Its capacity to spend rose and fell with the price of oil. Just when Alberta hit another good wave, Ottawa launched the National Energy Program in the early 1980s—just to remind them who ruled the country and to whose benefit. Alberta got reduced profits and Eastern Canadians got cheap gas.

Alberta has been stuck in an abusive relationship for a long time and is wondering if it wouldn’t be better to be on her own. In the background is another suitor named Donald Trump, who would relieve Alberta of those pesky equalization payments and onerous regulations. The province would become the “cherished 51st state” instead of some western challenger to Central Canadian dominance that always needs to be put in its place.

Arden can’t see any of this. And her vitriol does nothing to make Albertans want to stay.

“You guys have your head so far up your as-es that you obviously can’t see what pri-ks you are,” Arden ranted. “The way you are treating your fellow citizens, your fellow Canadians, you guys are a bunch of creepy little pri-ks…

“Alberta will never separate from Canada. It’s never going to happen because people like me are going to stand up, throw their shoulders back, and keep fu-king yelling and keep standing up for what I know is right.”

Oh? Should Albertans stay because an insulting singer inspires a screaming mob? Will they suddenly find gratitude?

No. Abused Albertans have had enough. Their wants are not only reasonable, they’re good and fair policy. Canadians and their federal government should treat Alberta with proper respect, care about its grievances and feelings, and appreciate how they’d be a whole lot worse without her.

Lee Harding is a research fellow for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.