Premiers say Ottawa should have consulted with them more before tabling 2024 budget

Canada's premiers are ac‐ cusing the federal govern‐ ment of doing a poor job of consulting with them be‐ fore tabling the 2024 budget.

They voiced their con‐ cerns in a letter released Friday by the Council of the Federation, made up of all 13 provincial and territorial pre‐ miers.

The letter, written on be‐ half of the premiers by coun‐ cil chair and Nova Scotia Pre‐ mier Tim Houston, said that in order for the federal gov‐ ernment to promote afford‐ ability and productivity, Ot‐ tawa and the provinces should "return" to a coopera‐ tive approach.

The budget, tabled Tues‐ day by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, proposes $52.9 billion in new spending over five years, including $8.5 billion in new spending for housing.

Ottawa also will post a $40 billion deficit this fiscal year and spend more on ser‐ vicing its debt - $54.1 billion than it will spend on health care this year.

The letter said the 2024 budget "was announced af‐ ter all [provinces and territo‐ ries] released their respective budgets and contained sev‐ eral initiatives that directly impact our own plans and budgets."

"There was limited and in‐ consistent outreach from the federal government in ad‐ vance to ensure priorities and objectives of [provinces and territories] were consid‐ ered," the letter said.

The letter says the pre‐ miers fear that the cost of new federal programs will "eventually be downloaded on provinces and territories, increasing the financial bur‐ dens borne by the taxpay‐ ers."

An ongoing battle over jurisdiction

For months, various provinces have accused the federal government of over‐ reaching into provincial af‐ fairs or exacerbating prob‐ lems, particularly those re‐ lated to housing and immi‐ gration.

Alberta has sharply criti‐ cized the Liberal government for cutting deals with the province's municipalities through the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.

The province has now in‐ troduced legislation to block those deals in the absence of Alberta's approval.

In Quebec, Premier François Legault has said the province can't take in more asylum seekers and recently asked Ottawa to transfer all immigration powers to Que‐ bec.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he declined Legault's request, despite the premier's claims that a rise in asylum seekers was putting pressure on Quebec's public services.

In the letter, the premiers said that Ottawa should "re‐ frain" from overreaching in their jurisdiction over health, education and housing.

"Every government should have the right to receive on‐ going financial compensation representing their fair share," the letter said. "This includes provinces and territories that reserve the right to require unconditional federal fund‐ ing."

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trudeau said he'd "al‐ ways rather work with provinces."

"But if we have to, I will go around them and be there for Canadians, because this economy deserves young Canadians getting the sup‐ port they need," Trudeau ad‐ ded.

The letter did praise the federal government's com‐ mitment to spending an ad‐ ditional $8.1 billion on de‐ fence, which the council said it has been asking for over many years.

The letter said the budget "may lead to positive impacts for Canadians if actioned properly and collaboratively with provincial and territorial partners."

"While the issue of good governance may not grab headlines, we know it is cruci‐ al to turn promises into re‐ sults," the letter said.