Prime Minister Mark Carney is promising his cabinet will trim back Ottawa’s $558.3 billion budget this fall, but he has yet to explain where the axe will fall or by how much.“Canada’s new government will spend less so Canadians can invest more,” Carney told Liberal MPs in a closed caucus meeting, reading from prepared remarks. He said the fall budget will show a “new fiscal discipline” but did not identify programs or departments on the chopping block.“These are tough times,” Carney said. “We have to make tough choices for a better future. That fall budget will spend less.”Blacklock's Reporter said federal accounts show just five items make up more than half of Ottawa’s annual costs: $85.5 billion in seniors’ benefits, $71.1 billion for payroll, $54.7 billion in health transfers, $54.2 billion in debt interest, and $29.6 billion for the Canada Child Benefit. .Carney did not say if any of these areas will be touched.In its last economic update, the finance department warned rising expenses and election promises — including a $5.8 billion income tax cut lowering the bottom rate from 15% to 14% — would put more pressure on the books.Canada’s debt ceiling stands at $2.13 trillion, a figure that has more than doubled since 2016. Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland insisted last year the country’s finances remained “strong and sustainable,” though she too promised restraint, warning it would be “irresponsible and unfair” to pass more debt to future generations.Carney struck a similar tone, saying the goal was not to slash social programs but to “eliminate wasteful government spending” and make Ottawa more efficient.
