Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is prepared to run larger deficits — growing Canada's debt by 31.5 billion Canadian dollars ($23.8 billion) more than previously projected over the next four years — to finance campaign promises if his Liberal government is re-elected.
The Liberals released a costed fiscal plan on Sunday that shows deficits will be C$7.9 billion higher on average every fiscal year over the course of their next mandate should they win power in the Oct. 21 election. That's despite plans to raise an average C$6.3 billion extra in revenue every year over that time.
The fiscal projection, part of the party's full campaign platform, suggests the Liberals believe Canadians remain open to the idea the country can afford larger deficits to pay for new spending and tax cuts. The Liberals made a similar bet in 2015, when they broke with Canadian political convention and unveiled plans to deliberately go into deficit to finance spending.