The Parliamentary budget officer (PBO) thinks prices will go up by two per cent by the end of the year, and the amount of money the government owes will also go up because the economy is not doing well.
The group in charge of keeping an eye on the government’s money says things don’t look great. This comes as the government gets ready to make its spring budget and people hope the central bank will start lowering interest rates.
The report says that the first cut in interest rates will probably happen in April, which is sooner than what the financial markets think.
The Bank of Canada will announce if they are going to change the interest rate on Wednesday. Most people think they will keep it the same at five per cent.
High interest rates have made it harder for people to spend money in Canada. This has also caused businesses to sell less.
Last week, Statistics Canada said that the economy only grew one per cent over the year in the last three months. The increase in growth was mainly because of more products being sold to other countries, helped by the strong U. STrends in how money is being spent.
The PBO says the economy will probably grow by a small 0. 8 percent this year, a little less than the Bank of Canada’s estimate of one percent.
Slow economic growth would also hurt the government’s money.
The PBO expects the government to owe $46. 8 billion more money this year, unless they make any new decisions or let temporary decisions end as planned.
That would be more than the $40 billion the government expected in the fall.
The report says that if the Bank of Canada keeps interest rates high for a long time, the deficit could be bigger and the economy could be weaker.
Chrystia Freeland, who is in charge of money for the country, said she will show the plan for how the government will spend money and what they have in the bank on April 16th.
The Liberals will probably find it difficult to make the budget.
The government doesn’t have a lot of money, and it needs to decide how much to spend on housing.
The budget is a chance for the Liberals to try and get back the support of Canadians who are now supporting the Conservatives.
The finance minister has said again that she is committed to new rules that will limit how much the government can go into debt.
The government believes it is really important to put money into Canada and its people. “Freeland mentioned that we need to introduce pharmacare legislation in a way that is financially responsible,” she said ahead of the new legislation.
“We set some financial goals in the fall economic statement, and we will achieve them. ”
The government promised that the amount of money it owes will not be more than $40 billion this year.
The government spent $23. 6 billion more than it earned so far this year, according to the Finance Department.
The government wants to reduce the amount of debt compared to the country’s income in 2024-25, and make sure that they are not spending more than one per cent of the country’s income in 2026-27.
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