The government will be tabling the federal 2022 budget on April 7, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Tuesday.
The budget 鈥� the first since the 2021 federal election 鈥� is expected to include increased defence spending as well as funding for commitments, such as dental care, made as part of the new Liberal-NDP confidence-and-supply agreement.
"Our government was reelected on a commitment to grow our economy, make life more affordable, and to continue building a Canada where nobody gets left behind. That is exactly what we are doing, and that is what we're going to continue to do in the budget,鈥� Freeland said during question period in the House of Commons.
The latest economic update, provided by Freeland virtually in December, saw the government commit more than $8 million towards combatting COVID-19, while also predicting a moderate decline in the national deficit.
The document forecast that the deficit in 2021-22 would drop to $144.5 billion, down from $154.7 billion estimated in the spring 2021 budget. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, the deficit was projected to sit at $58.4 billion, down slightly from the earlier predicted $59.7 billion.
Conservative finance critic Ed Fast said he鈥檚 expecting the budget to 鈥渃ontinue the free spending ways of the Liberals,鈥� but that he thinks it should instead address the 鈥渋ssue of long-term sustainability of our massive debt.鈥�
鈥淲e had called in the last budget for the minister to include a defensible fiscal anchor, she didn't. We're asking her to do that now, because the additional revenues that their taxes have brought in actually mask what's a very serious fiscal situation for our country. We've got rising interest rates, Canadians are going to be pinched. We've got rising inflation, which is causing Canadians to fall behind,鈥� Fast said on his way out of West Block on Tuesday.
In , MPs made more than 200 recommendations for what the budget should include or consider, based on their consultations with stakeholders, economists, and industry groups. Among them, presenting a plan to return to balance as soon as possible with adjustments for changing economic conditions; addressing the inequities exposed and exacerbated by the pandemic; and moving to meaningfully address housing affordability.
The vote on the budget 鈥� while typically in minority Parliaments is considered a test of the confidence the House of Commons has in the governing party 鈥� is expected to pass given the New Democrats have already committed their support.
With files from 麻豆传媒鈥� Sarah Turnbull
