Prime minister’s spring fiscal update fails to give Canada’s economy the medicine it needs to recover<\/p>\n
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Published Apr 29, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Despite claims that \u201cCanada\u2019s new government\u201d is being run by prudent fiscal managers<\/a>, Ottawa still has a spending problem. In many ways, the spring economic update is proving something the Conservatives have been saying for months and most Canadians were not believing.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Mark Carney\u2019s government is a lot like Justin Trudeau\u2019s government and that includes their interventionist economic view and out-of-control spending<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Many of the headlines after the spring update focused on the fact that it showed Carney\u2019s deficit being $11.4 billion less than planned. Sure, compared to last November\u2019s budget when they predicted a deficit of $78.3 billion for the fiscal year that just ended on March 31.<\/p>\n Coming in at $66.9 billion is preferable to $78.3 billion, but as recently as December 2024, the last fall economic statement for the Trudeau government, this same deficit had been projected to be $42.2 billion. So Carney\u2019s lower deficit is still higher than past projections \u2014 not as bad as feared, but still higher.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s growth is sluggish<\/p>\n That\u2019s the good news. The bad news is that our economy will continue to grow at a slow pace going forward.<\/p>\n Yes, the government wants you to believe this is all about U.S. President Donald Trump and his tariffs. While that is a useful political narrative, it\u2019s not based on reality; we\u2019ve had slow growth for years and the government isn\u2019t acting to change that.<\/p>\n Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The fiscal update boasts that according to the International Monetary Fund\u2019s World Economic Outlook from earlier this month, Canada will have the second fastest growing economy in the G7. That sounds good, but the problem is that we\u2019re still only projected to grow the economy by 1.5% this year, which is second to the U.S. at 2.3% growth.<\/p>\n Throughout the 1960s, Canada\u2019s economy grew at rates of between 3% to 7% a year. In the 1970s, it was 3% to 6%, while throughout the 1980s and 1990s it was still at least double what we\u2019re facing now.<\/p>\n Today, we get an anemic growth forecast and the government tells us we\u2019ve never had it so good.<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED VIDEO We apologize, but this video has failed to load.<\/p>\n Play VideoTime for bold tax reform<\/p>\n Where is the plan to reform the tax system to make Canada more competitive? It\u2019s true that on new investment, Canada is competitive with one of the lowest tax rates on new investment. Where we need to change is on the overall federal-provincial corporate tax rate, which currently sits at 26.5%.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n That\u2019s slightly lower than the G7 average, but above the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development average. Lowering that rate would give Canada a competitive advantage at a time when we could really use one, but there were no major tax-reform measures in this fiscal update nor were there any in last November\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n The C.D. Howe Institute has advocated for what they call \u201cbig bang\u201d tax reform that would see drastic reductions for both corporate and personal income tax rates.<\/p>\n Their recent report called for taking the federal corporate tax rate down to 10% from the current 15%, but they also called for widening the tax base to give a tax cut to companies without reducing in any substantial way the amount of revenue the government takes in. On the personal side, they advocate for collapsing the current five tax rates down to three with the top rate of 26% on income over $180,000 rather than the current system with rates as high as 33% federally.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n That kind of bold thinking, the kind of thinking we should be seeing from a government trying to turn around an economy, is sorely missing from this fiscal update.<\/p>\n What we have is a government pushing the same kind of policies that have facilitated our weak growth over the past several years. The sovereign wealth fund will not only be built with borrowed money, making it a sovereign debt fund<\/a>, but its mission will be very similar to the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the Canada Growth Fund, the Strategic Innovation Fund and other government investment vehicles that haven\u2019t delivered as promised.<\/p>\n Carney claims he\u2019s running a new government, but neither his ideas nor his actions would show that to be the case.<\/p>\n Canada needs and deserves better.<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n LILLEY: Carney gov’t acting unconstitutionally, ex-N.L. premier says<\/p>\n![\"Finance](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/seu5863-e1777408832675.jpg\")
Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Prime Minister Mark Carney meet before the spring economic update is delivered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Photo by Blair Gable \/Postmedia NetworkArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/21.1.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tsun.svg\"){kind=logo}
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The Carney government\u2019s spring economic update was released on April 28, 2026. Photo by Adam Huras \/Postmedia NetworkBold thinking needed, not more of the same<\/p>\n![\"Supreme](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/supreme-court5570_301830874-e1777415266494.jpg\")
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