Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau has indicated he has no plans to time a return of balanced books for Ottawa — even with a scorching economy.
Morneau credited the strong economic performance to the Trudeau government's strategy to run deficits, which helped it finance measures such as lower income-tax rates for middle earners and enhanced child benefits.
Moving forward, he said Tuesday that Ottawa intended to pursue its plan to invest more than $180 billion into infrastructure over the next 11 years. That spending is projected to contribute to annual, multi-billion-dollar shortfalls across Ottawa's five-year budgetary outlook — and perhaps beyond.
Morneau's remarks outside a cabinet retreat in St. John's, Nfld., came after months of impressive economic data, including a recent report showing growth expanded at an annualized rate of 4.5% in the second quarter.
Conservative Party opponents have long been critical about the government's plan to add to the federal debt to fund new measures, while some economists have urged Ottawa to limit fiscal uncertainty by mapping out a plan to return to balance.
More recently, experts have also warned that Ottawa should consider delaying its nearer-term infrastructure investments to avoid the risk of overheating the already-sizzling economy.
The economy's surprisingly powerful start to the year is expected to improve the federal bottom line outlined in the government's March budget.
At the time, Morneau forecast a $28.5-billion deficit for 2017-18, including a $3-billion accounting adjustment for risk
