{"id":44501,"date":"2024-03-04T16:59:30","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T16:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2024\/03\/04\/canadas-federal-budget-set-for-april-16\/"},"modified":"2024-03-04T16:59:30","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T16:59:30","slug":"canadas-federal-budget-set-for-april-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2024\/03\/04\/canadas-federal-budget-set-for-april-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada’s federal budget set for April 16"},"content":{"rendered":"
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OTTAWA \u2014 Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Monday that she will present the Liberal government\u2019s federal budget on April 16, as cost-of-living issues continue to dominate Canadian politics.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur economic plan is about building more homes, faster, making life more affordable, and creating more good jobs,\u201d Freeland said in a news release on Monday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The spending plan is coming at a time when high interest rates are putting a damper on the economy and ramping up fiscal pressure on the Liberal government.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the political cost of inaction on housing could be high, as rents skyrocket across the country and homeownership remains out of reach for many Canadians.<\/p>\n

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has mounted a fiery attack on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over housing affordability, earning his party a double-digit lead over the Liberals.<\/p>\n

Dwindling support for the governing Liberals forced the government to shift its focus to housing in the fall with a slew of new \u2014 but modest \u2014 measures aimed at increasing housing supply.<\/p>\n

Housing Minister Sean Fraser is expected to unveil a plan soon that outlines how the Liberals intend to get more homes built and ease affordability.<\/p>\n

But big-ticket items are unlikely to come through in the budget, if Freeland is to follow through with her promise of fiscal restraint.<\/p>\n

The finance minister recently reiterated her commitment to new fiscal guardrails introduced in the fall that would limit deficits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cFor our government, it is very, very important to invest in Canada and Canadians \u2026 and to do so in a fiscally responsible way,\u201d Freeland told reporters ahead of the introduction of pharmacare legislation last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe laid out in the fall economic statement some fiscal guideposts, and we will meet them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The federal government pledged in the fall that the current fiscal year\u2019s deficit would not get any bigger than its projection of $40.1 billion.<\/p>\n

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