Canada Runs Deeper Deficits as Finance Minister Resigns
- Freeland quits ahead of budget update; LeBlanc replaces her
- The government ran $44 billion deficit in fiscal year 2023-24
Chrystia Freeland, Canada's former deputy prime minister and finance minister, who resigned today.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government ran a deeper deficit than projected and broke a fiscal objective outlined by his finance minister, who resigned the day she was set to unveil new spending and revenue estimates.
A C$62 billion ($43.5 billion) deficit in the last fiscal year blew past former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s pledge to keep the shortfall at or below C$40.1 billion. She quit just hours before she was scheduled to present the so-called fall economic statement, accusing Trudeau of “costly political gimmicks” and failing to keep the “fiscal powder dry” ahead of a Donald Trump presidency.