Budget officer: Ramped-up defence spending to deepen deficit
The federal government’s deficit will likely balloon this year because of ramped-up defense spending, but the lack of a spring budget or clarity from Ottawa makes it difficult to be sure, said parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux. Though his office could use the Liberals’ spring election platform as a basis for analysis, its initial plans have already shifted to include $9.3 billion worth of defense spending, and $4.3billion in aid has been promised to Ukraine. Without defined budget benchmarks, the PBO cannot assess if the federal government is on track to meet its fiscal targets. Pre-election estimates, which did not account for the impacts of the trade war, predicted the federal deficit would come in at $42 billion for the fiscal year. Giroux said he now expects a deficit between $60 billion and $70 billion, though it could be lower depending on government cuts. Last year, the federal government’s deficit came in at $46 billion, roughly $4.3 billion lower than estimates in March.
