On Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government will present its first budget, which he says will provide “the answer” for an economy buckling under U.S. tariffs.
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| Source: Video Screenshot |
AFP reports: Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and England before entering politics this year, has positioned himself as the ideal person to guide Canada through the unprecedented disruption to its relationship with the US caused by President Donald Trump.
Trump’s tariffs have hit Canada hard, driving up unemployment and squeezing businesses in key sectors such as automobiles, aluminum, and steel.
“Where are we going to find growth, given the headwinds from the new U.S. trade policy?” Carney asked reporters in South Korea this weekend, following an Asia summit.
“This budget will provide the answer to that question.”
His Liberal government says the budget will address the stark new geopolitical realities facing Canada.
Specific details of the spending plan will remain secret until the finance minister unveils the budget in Parliament on Tuesday.
Among the headline items will be major increases in defense spending to align with NATO targets.
Funds will also be allocated to a series of national projects that Carney says are essential to Canada’s economic sovereignty given the “rupture” in economic relations with the United States.
These projects range from port expansion to energy production and the infrastructure needed to increase the extraction of critical minerals from remote areas.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne described the measures he will present on Tuesday as “an investment budget.”
“The idea is to build the Canada of tomorrow.”
Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister in January before being elected to a full term in April, has consistently warned Canadians that the Trump-era disruptions in U.S.-Canada relations are not a passing phase.
This weekend, he said that the budget would help “reduce our reliance on the United States,” but he noted that such a transformational shift “can’t happen overnight.”
Carney’s April election victory left his Liberal Party three seats short of a majority in Parliament. This means the government needs the support or abstentions of the opposition to pass its budget.
Since the budget is a confidence vote, its defeat would trigger new elections.
The Conservatives, the largest opposition party in Parliament, are the least likely to help.
Party leader Pierre Poilievre has made a range of demands in exchange for his support, including reducing the deficit.
However, Genevieve Tellier, a public policy expert at the University of Ottawa, told AFP that she expects the deficit to be "very large."
The left-wing New Democrats, who lost official party status in Parliament after a poor showing in the April election, may be reluctant to trigger another vote and could abstain on Carney’s budget.
Tellier said she saw "little chance" of the government falling.
When asked over the weekend if he was confident his budget would pass, Carney responded: "I am 100 percent confident that this budget is the right budget for this country at this moment.
"This is not a game," he added, voicing his readiness to defend his proposals in an election, if necessary.
По материалам: http://www.planet-today.com/2025/11/canada-pm-says-first-budget-will-help.html