Carney Liberals to table spring economic update April 28

The federal government is set to table its spring economic update on April 28, the one-year anniversary of the Liberals’ general election win, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne told the House of Commons Tuesday.

It will be Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first since his cabinet flipped the release schedule for its budgets and fiscal updates. The document will give the latest accounting of federal government spending and policy agenda items since last November’s budget.

“This is going to be a plan that is going to help families,” Champagne said during question period Tuesday, the day after Carney’s Liberals secured a majority government. “It’s going to help our industry. It’s going to help our nation, Mr. Speaker, to prosper and to obviously bring good news to Canadians across the nation.”

The fiscal update comes as Canadians are facing higher prices, especially at the pump, amid the conflict in Iran and resulting blockades in the Strait of Hormuz, plus the protracted trade war with the United States.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday following an announcement that the federal government is set to temporarily suspend the federal fuel excise tax on gas and diesel starting next week, Carney signalled the spring economic update will include some restructuring of already announced measures.

“We’re putting in place a series of measures. Some will have short-term payoffs. Many will have payoffs in a few years,” Carney said. “The bigger projects, the bigger initiatives, we have to change fundamentally our economy to be stronger, more independent, more prosperous, but we want to make sure that those benefit all Canadians.”

“In (the spring update), you’ll see more emphasis on taking where we’re going with the economy and making sure that it benefits all Canadians,” he added.

The Bank of Canada, meanwhile, is set to release its next monetary policy report and interest rate decision the following day, on April 29.