The newly-minted finance minister is set today to deliver the Liberal government's first fiscal update to Canadians.
Bill Morneau will deliver the government's fiscal outlook at around 10:45 a.m. ET on Friday in Ottawa.
The update is likely to be simply a look at the government's finances as they stand, and not contain any new information about future spending plans on things that were promised during the election campaign.
The report follows a similar one earlier this month from the Parliamentary Budget Officer that found Canada's economy — and by extension, Ottawa's finances — in worse shape than anticipated, and on track for deficits in the range of between $3.6 billion in 2016-17 and $6.9 billion in 2017-18.
The PBO's previous report, in April, forecast the economy to expand by 2.1% this year. Their update earlier this month ratcheted that down to 1.1%. That's barely above Canada's current inflation rate.
After the government's budget finally returned to balance after several years in the red, the Liberals campaigned on a pledge to run small deficits in each of the next few years before returning to surplus down the line in 2019-2020.
If the new government sticks to that plan, and if Friday's update is in keeping with the PBO's recent projections, their new deficits could be larger than first thought.
The government's release Thursday stressed that the update will not include any details about future spending plans, but Morneau may have to explain what the updated numbers mean for the Liberals' campaign agenda, including big infrastructure spending and a promise to reduce the tax burden on middle-income earners.
