A balanced budget by 2019/20 may be hard to come by if economy continues to struggle, Trudeau admits

OTTAWA – The Canadian government could find it hard to balance the budget by 2019/20 as promised if the economy is constantly on the struggle, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said within an interview published on Thursday.

Trudeau, talking with the French-language La Presse newspaper, also confirmed the budget deficit in the 2016/17 fiscal year could be larger than the $10 billion his new Liberal government initially committed to.

Trudeau won power last October promising to operate three consecutive modest budget deficits to assist fund infrastructure spending he states is needed to boost a struggling economy.

At the time he said the deficit could be eliminated by 2019/20, consider then your price of oil – a significant Canadian export – has fallen more than expected, curbing growth.

Related

Why the next recession could be different – and more dangerousCanadian markets bracing for ‘dramatic’ Bank of Canada action – and recession

Asked concerning the commitment to balance your budget by 2019/20, Trudeau replied: “Should you consider the growth forecasts for the following 3 or 4 years, that’ll be difficult.”

Trudeau added, however, that governments often missed the prospective when predicting growth four years out.

“Investing in infrastructure and putting money in to the pockets of middle class families have a positive impact on growth and that we think we can alter the rate of growth, it’s quite feasible,” he explained.

Liberal officials told Reuters recently poor people state from the economy meant the 2016/17 deficit could be larger than initially promised.

“Yes, we will exceed $10 billion. By how much? We’re examining that now,” Trudeau told La Presse.

? Thomson Reuters 2016