Freeland pledges federal budget for April 16 “open pathways” to middle-class living

Chrystia Freeland, the finance minister and deputy prime minister, said on Monday that the government of Freeland will share the 2024 budget on Tuesday, April 16.

The 2024 federal budget will show Canadians how the country is doing financially and what the future looks like. It will also include the Liberal government’s plans to spend more money to help with the high cost of living.

The finance minister says the big budget will help the next generation have a good life in the middle class.

“We want to make more homes quickly, make life less expensive, and create more jobs. Canada is better when everyone has the same chance to do well,” Freeland said in a statement about the next budget.

Freeland didn’t follow the usual way of telling the date for the yearly economic talk in the House of Commons because the MPs are not in Ottawa this week.

The Liberals have been having press conferences every week to give updates on things like making groceries cheaper and building more homes.

Many Canadians are feeling the effects of inflation and high interest rates in their daily lives. They are also worried about their upcoming mortgage renewals. In November 2023, Freeland talked about making housing more affordable and trying to spend money carefully.

The minority Liberals are trying to spend less money and find ways to save billions. The check-in on the economy didn’t include a lot of big spending. The government plans to spend more money in 2025, which is also the year of the next federal election.

In the latest economic report, it was estimated that the government’s debt would be $40 billion in 2023-24 and $38. 4 billion in 2024-25. In the new review of the finances, Freeland said that the government won’t be able to balance the budget in the next six years, as Prime Minister Trudeau planned.

The finance minister promised to keep the deficit getting smaller compared to the country’s income in 2024-25. They also said they will keep the deficit below one percent of the country’s income in 2026-27 and beyond.

With the new federal budget, Freeland wants to make sure the government spends money carefully while also considering the over 300 suggestions from the House of Commons Finance Committee.

The next budget will also be an important political paper. The federal New Democrats are still supporting the Liberals in important matters. This is because they made a deal to work together, and they recently introduced a new law about drugs. Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is ahead of the Liberals by a lot, and he is mostly focusing on the economy in his attacks.

More and more people from other countries are pushing Canada to spend more on defense to meet its NATO target of two per cent.

The Business Council of Canada is asking the government to focus on making the economy grow, especially after hearing the news about the budget date and the continuous drop in GDP per person for six quarters.

Goldy Hyder, CEO of the Business Council of Canada, said that the government has a chance to make policies that will help the economy grow. This includes following through on its previous promises without making future generations pay too much. “This plan will help our important social programs and living standards last a long time. It will also help Canada do well in the world. “