When oil prices were high, successive governments spent freely as though the good times would never end.
debt and deficit
The Ontario government plans to spend more than $190 billion on public infrastructure.
The Notley government overshot its budgeted spending levels by $2 billion in 2016/17 and $1 billion in 2017/18.
Contrary to government claims, Ontario’s auditor general says the province’s deficit is $11.7 billion.
Ontario and Alberta are projecting budget deficits for years to come.
Between now and 2022/23, Alberta’s per-person debt is projected to grow by 157 per cent.
Once its net debt reaches $48 billion in 2020/21, Alberta will have burned through $83 billion in net assets in 13 years.
Canada’s federal net debt will climb to $831.5 billion by 2022-23.
The budget proposes cumulative deficits totalling $72.8 billion over the government’s first mandate.
This $51 billion increase in spending represents total growth of 20.1 per cent in just three years.