Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canadians should brace for an austerity budget this fall as Ottawa struggles with ballooning deficits.Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Carney said federal spending has been climbing at twice the rate of economic growth and must be brought under control. “We need to spend precious taxpayers’ dollars as carefully as possible,” he said. “The growth rate of federal government expenditures in the past decade is 7% year over year. We must now stop this trend.”Blacklock's Reporter sais Carney confirmed the coming budget will focus on cuts to day-to-day operations of the federal bureaucracy while still carving out room for “big investments.” .He insisted the effort to find efficiencies is the “responsible thing to do with Canadians’ money.”Ottawa has yet to set a date for releasing its 2025 budget, which is already six months overdue. The most recent fiscal update disclosed the 2023 deficit came in 55% higher than forecast, rising from an expected $40 billion to $61.9 billion. The 2024 shortfall also overshot projections, ending up at $48.3 billion instead of $39.8 billion..Debt charges are forecast to climb from $53.7 billion in 2024 to $69.4 billion by 2029 as borrowing costs rise.“We are going to build,” Carney said, offering no details.“Our government will spend in the Canadian economy and Canadian workers, Canadian companies. We can do both and we will do both.”
