The Liberal government unveiled its first federal budget on Tuesday, an outline of the new government's spending projections that's awash in big plans — and big deficits.
Ottawa plans to spend almost $30 billion more than it takes in this coming fiscal year, a big jump from the $5.6-billion deficit for the current year straddling the previous Tory and current Liberal governments.
The red ink flows from there, to $29 billion the following year, then $22.8 billion and $17.7 billion in 2019-20, the next scheduled federal election year.
In total, it's almost $100 billion in deficit spending, a figure that Finance Minister Bill Morneau said is more than warranted given the current economic climate.
A good chunk of that deficit spending is targeted at infrastructure projects — things like highways, bridges and airports — that help make it easier for the economy to thrive, and make government tax revenues increase by enough to offset the cost of dipping into the kitty up front.
Specifically, $3.4 billion has been earmarked for public transit; $1.4 billion for affordable housing; $2.2 billion for water and waste management systems in First Nations communities; $400 million for early learning and child care; and $518 million for climate change mitigation technologies.
Almost $4 billion in other miscellaneous spending under the heading of "infrastructure."
There's even more after that — "more than $120 billion in the next decade" according to a government press release — but the 269-page budget itself was light on details about that spending.
The idea is that projects like bridges and airport improvements pay off for governments down the line by making it easier for companies to grow, which boosts Ottawa's bottom line by increasing the tax base.
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