From the Fraser Institute

By Jake Fuss and Grady Munro

Carney’s deficit-spending plan over the next four years dwarfs the plan from Justin Trudeau, the biggest spender (per-person, inflation-adjusted) in Canadian history, and will add many more billions to Canada’s mountain of federal debt. Yet Prime Minister Carney has tried to sell his plan as more responsible than his predecessor’s.

All Canadians should care about government transparency. In Ottawa, the federal government must provide timely and comprehensible reporting on federal finances so Canadians know whether the government is staying true to its promises. And yet, the Carney government’s new spending framework—which increases complexity and ambiguity in the federal budget—will actually reduce transparency and make it harder for Canadians to hold the government accountable.

The government plans to separate federal spending into two budgets: the operating budget and the capital budget. Spending on government salaries, cash transfers to the provinces (for health care, for example) and to people (e.g. Old Age Security) will fall within the operating budget, while spending on “anything that builds an asset” will fall within the capital budget. Prime Minister Carney plans to balance the operating budget by 2028/29 while increasing spending within the capital budget (which will be funded by more borrowing).

According to the Liberal Party platform, this accounting change will “create a more transparent categorization of the expenditure that contributes to capital formation in Canada.” But in reality, it will muddy the waters and make it harder to evaluate the state of federal finances.

First off, the change will make it more difficult to recognize the actual size of the deficit. While the Carney government plans to balance the operating budget by 2028/29, this does not mean it plans to stop borrowing money. In fact, it will continue to borrow to finance increased capital spending, and as a result, after accounting for both operating and capital spending, will increase planned deficits over the next four years by a projected $93.4 billion compared to the Trudeau government’s last spending plan. You read that right—Carney’s deficit-spending plan over the next four years dwarfs the plan from Justin Trudeau, the biggest spender (per-person, inflation-adjusted) in Canadian history, and will add many more billions to Canada’s mountain of federal debt. Yet Prime Minister Carney has tried to sell his plan as more responsible than his predecessor’s.

In addition to obscuring the amount of borrowing, splitting the budget allows the government to get creative with its accounting. Certain types of spending clearly fall into one category or another. For example, salaries for bureaucrats clearly represent day-to-day operations while funding for long-term infrastructure projects are clearly capital investments. But Carney’s definition of “capital spending” remains vague. Instead of limiting this spending category to direct investments in long-term assets such as roads, ports or military equipment, the government will also include in the capital budget new “incentives” that “support the formation of private sector capital (e.g. patents, plants, and technology) or which meaningfully raise private sector productivity.” In other words, corporate welfare.

Indeed, based on the government’s definition of capital spending, government subsidies to corporations—as long as they somehow relate to creating an asset—could potentially land in the same spending category as new infrastructure spending. Not only would this be inaccurate, but this broad definition means the government could potentially balance the operating budget simply by shifting spending over to the capital budget, as opposed to reducing spending. This would add to the debt but allow the government to maneuver under the guise of “responsible” budgeting.

Finally, rather than split federal spending into two budgets, to increase transparency the Carney government could give Canadians a better idea of how their tax dollars are spent by providing additional breakdowns of line items about operating and capital spending within the existing budget framework.

Clearly, Carney’s new spending framework, as laid out in the Liberal election platform, will only further complicate government finances and make it harder for Canadians to hold their government accountable.

Jake Fuss

Director, Fiscal Studies, Fraser Institute

Grady Munro

Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney used his first post-election press conference to announce his government’s plan to launch a “new economy” in Canada that will involve “deepening” ties to the world.

During the Friday morning press conference, Carney explained his vision for Canada, alleging that the nation is “in a once in a lifetime crisis” and that it is “time to come together, to put on our Team Canada [hockey] sweaters, and win big.”

Part of this plan, said Carney, is to unveil a “new Canadian economy” that will present the biggest shift since the end of the Second World War.

Carney said that his Liberal government would  build houses with “smaller environmental footprints” and would “trust science.”

After his prepared remarks, the majority of the media questions involved Canada’s relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump and the ongoing tariff dispute.

Despite Carney’s globalist, left-wing political viewpoint, Trump reacted to the Liberals election victory by calling the prime minister a “nice gentleman” who “hated” him less than Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

Carney also said in the presser that his new cabinet will be sworn in on May 12.

Monday’s election saw Liberal leader Carney beat out Conservative rival Pierre Poilievre, who also lost his seat. The Conservatives managed to pick up over 20 new seats, however, and Poilievre has vowed to stay on as party leader, for now.

Carney has worked as the former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England and spent many years promoting green financial agendas.

Many political pundits have said that Carney owes his win to Trump and the president’s tariff threats and 51st state rhetoric.

The re-election of the Liberals for the fourth consecutive term has also seemed to bolster separatist sentiment in Western Canada, a region which votes overwhelming for the Conservative Party but because of its smaller population, often remains at the mercy of those in eastern Canada when it comes to electing federal leaders.

Just one day after Carne’y election, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said that her province could soon consider taking serious steps toward greater autonomy. Smith also introduced a bill that would make calling referendums, including ones related to Albertan independence from Canada, easier to call.

Under Carney, the Liberals are expected to continue much of what they did under Trudeau, including the party’s zealous push in favor of abortion, euthanasia, radical gender ideology, internet regulation and so-called “climate change” policies. Indeed, Carney, like Trudeau, seems to have extensive ties to both China and the globalist World Economic Forum, connections which were brought up routinely by conservatives in the lead-up to the election.