Tax breaks, more spending: What Trudeau's opponents want to see in the 2022 budget
The 2022 federal budget will be tabled a week from today. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet and Finance Department officials finalize the massive spending document, opposition MPs are calling for the Liberals to commit to presenting a fiscal plan that both reins-in spending, and spends more.
It’ll be on Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to weigh the current economic pressures from inflation, calls for no tax increase, including what they promised they would in the last election, a growing expectation that Canada will be increasing its defense budget, and their deal with the New Democrats that will see billions allocated for social programs including dental care.
In , MPs made more than 200 recommendations for what the budget should include or consider, based on their consultations with stakeholders, economists, and industry groups.
Ahead of the budget’s tabling, here’s some of what MPs from across the aisle are saying about what they think the spending plan should, and shouldn’t include.
THE CONSERVATIVES
In an , the federal Conservatives accused the Liberals of “excessive government spending†prompting record inflation, and also of refusing “to provide relief to Canadians.â€
As a result, they are asking all MPs to support them in calling for the government to “present a federal budget rooted in fiscal responsibility, with no new taxes, a path to balance, and a meaningful fiscal anchor.â€
“The minister of finance is going to be tabling in this House, a budget, which is intended to chart the pathway forward for this country when it comes to our finances, how we spend taxpayers money. And given the fact that the last six years of Liberal government have been such an unmitigated financial disaster, we'd like to make some suggestions,†said Conservative MP and finance critic Ed Fast when introducing the motion.
Among the Conservatives’ suggestions: Seeing the government reduce the goods and services tax (GST) on gasoline and diesel, present a plan to tackle inflation and affordability crisis, and generally “give Canadians a break.â€
While the Official Opposition thinks government spending needs to be reined in, Conservative MPs have been calling for the Liberals to increase defence spending by tens of billions to hit the NATO target of 2 per cent of GDP.
THE BLOC QUEBECOIS
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet held a press conference on Parliament Hill on Thursday spelling out what his caucus wants to see in next week’s budget, based on consultations with Quebec organizations in a range of sectors.
The Bloc Quebecois have five “unconditional†demands in the budget in order for them to be willing to vote for it.
They are: Increasing the federal health transfers to the provinces; increasing old age security payments by $110; pursuing measures to deal with the rising cost of living; engaging the financial sector in developing a green industrial strategy; and taking a series of measures to live up to commitments to Indigenous people, including access to clean drinking water by the end of the year.
In a statement, Blanchet said his focus will be what it always is: Whether what’s being proposed is good for Quebec. If it’s not, they’ll try to improve it until it is.
THE NEW DEMOCRATS
The NDP may be the party going into the budget with the longest list of expectations, based on their agreed-to list of progressive policies the Liberals have promised to advance in exchange for their votes.
Among what New Democrats will be looking for from Freeland next Thursday: The first phase of a national dental care program; potentially more money to further develop a national pharmacare program; and more funding to address pandemic-related strains on the health-care system.
The NDP also have agreed with the Liberals to take action aimed at alleviating housing cost, including a $500 one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit; and implementing changes to the tax system meant to target financial institutions who profited during the pandemic.
And, in contrast with the Conservatives, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has said his caucus doesn’t want to see Canadian defence spending increased as much as would be required to hit the NATO target, a goal he’s called “arbitrary.â€
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½
BREAKING Shohei Ohtani becomes the first major league player with 50 homers, 50 stolen bases in a season
Shohei Ohtani became the first major league player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, with the Los Angeles Dodgers star going deep twice to reach the half-century mark and swiping two bags to get to 51 against the Miami Marlins on Thursday.
The RCMP has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including 3 submachine-guns
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including more than 120 handguns and at least five fully automatic weapons like machine-guns.
PM Trudeau names Anita Anand transport minister after Pablo Rodriguez quits cabinet
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped Treasury Board President Anita Anand to take on additional duties as Canada's minister of transport on Thursday.
Tensions flare between Poilievre and Singh in the House after NDP says it will back Trudeau Liberals
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh got into a heated exchange in the House of Commons on Thursday, just minutes after Singh announced his party would not be supporting the Conservatives’ first non-confidence motion against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
Canadian women among those who allege Harrods boss sexually abused them
CTV News has learned there are multiple Canadian women alleging they were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of the late Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed.
Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.
The University of Ottawa's special advisor on antisemitism says he has resigned following posts he made on social media celebrating the pager explosions in Lebanon this week.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.
Influencer couple denies leaving kids alone on cruise
For most people, dinner on a cruise ship is a time to relax. But when influencer couple Abby and Matt Howard decided to kick back with a dinner à deux, they ended up kicking up a storm.
Local Spotlight
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.
A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.
If you take a look to the right of Hilda Duddridge’s 100th birthday cake, you’ll see a sculpture of a smiling girl extending her arms forward.