The Liberal government in Ontario tabled an optimistic budget Thursday that it said would boost health spending, offers major tuition relief for most low-income students and includes robust growth projections that will allow it to fulfill its promise of balanced books by 2017-18.
The $133-billion document, tabled Thursday, will, however, also make life more expensive for some Ontarians.
Students won a pledge to overhaul the Ontario Tuition Grant program to cover the average post-secondary tuition for students from families that earn $50,000 a year or less.
The government has also increased funding for health-care sectors identified as priorities during pre-budget consultations, including palliative care ($75 million), cancer care services ($130 million) and $333 million to revamp services for children and youth with autism.
The budget projects growth in gross domestic product of 2.2% in 2016, outpacing national growth, with projections of 2.4% in 2017, 2.2% in 2018 and 2% in 2019.
With those numbers, the Liberals project a $4.3-billion budget deficit for 2016-17 before balancing the books in 2017-18.
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