Reduced deficit still higher than promised

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said budgets balance themselves, a new report from the Fraser Institute begs to disagree. It concludes he’s growing our per-person federal debt at a faster rate — five per cent over four years — than any other prime minister going back to Confederation who didn’t face a world war or economic recession.

Think about that. No PM in the 150-year history of our country is accumulating per-person federal debt at a faster pace than Trudeau, in relatively stable economic times.

Debt that will result in higher taxes and reduced public services, because more tax money will have to be diverted to pay interest on government debt.

At the moment when the Trudeau government should be paying down public debt, it’s heading in the opposite direction.

Based on the Fraser Institute study titled An Analysis of Federal Debt in Canada by Prime Ministers Since Confederation, even former Liberal prime ministers in similar economic circumstances to Trudeau disagreed with his approach.

Jean Chretien reduced per-person federal debt by 13 per cent during his time in office, Paul Martin by eight per cent, Lester B. Pearson, six per cent.

Leading up to the 2015 election, Trudeau repeatedly told voters his government would run balanced budgets, before reversing himself during the campaign.

Even then, Trudeau promised Canadians “modest” deficits of $9.9 billion in 2016-17, $9.5 billion in 2017-18, $5.7 billion in 2018-19 and a $1-billion surplus for 201920, the final year of his election mandate.

Today, his government pegs the 2016-17 deficit at $17.8 billion, 80 per cent higher than his commitment in the 2015 election, with no end of deficits in sight.

On Tuesday, the Trudeau government will deliver its fall economic statement.

According to economists, it’s expected to announce the Liberals will cut their projected deficit for this fiscal year (201718) by $10 billion to $12 billion from its current level of $28.5 billion, because of stronger than expected revenues.

But even that will be nowhere near Trudeau’s election promise of a $9.5-billion deficit for this year.

We’re tempted to say Trudeau is spending our money like a drunken sailor, but that would be unfair.

After all, drunken sailors spend their own money.