Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled a federal budget Tuesday projecting a deficit about $10 billion higher than initially forecast — an increase driven by a worsening economy and new spending on initiatives like a national dental care program.
Freeland’s fiscal plan projects the deficit will be $40.1 billion in 2023-24 — up from the $30.6 billion she said it would be just last fall.
Freeland’s relatively brief 250-page budget is being pitched as a focused plan to address inflation — there will another one-time GST rebate for low-income Canadians — and to position the economy for the future through multi-billion-dollar tax credits
