Prime Minister Mark Carney announces a federal investment of up to $1.6 billion in artificial intelligence company Cohere, on the sidelines of the EU-Canada summit in Montreal on Oct. 29. (Alexis Aubin / AFP via Getty Images)
With Americans heading to the polls for their midterm elections, it feels like Thursday’s federal budget is getting a lot less media attention than usual. Ottawa might not mind this: every time U.S. President Donald Trump twitches, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s popularity rises. But while Washington commands the headlines, Canadians should check out the creeping sea of red ink below the fold — and just what it is funding.
Last year’s budget saw Ottawa rack up the biggest non-pandemic budget deficit in history, a whopping $80 billion; this year it is projected to top $63 billion. And while the government claims it will return its operating budget to balance in 2028-29, a revival of corporate welfare policies of governments past, repackaged as nation-building, promises big overall deficits for years to come. Read more