The Trudeau government set a very high bar for themselves, but we think they managed to pull off the improbable.
Budget 2024 may be the worst budget the Trudeau government has ever tabled – and that’s saying something.
To save you some pain, we read the damn thing, all 430 pages of it, so you won’t have to.
Here are your key taxpayer takeaways.
Debt interest charges soaringÂ
Welcome to Canada, where you pay a federal sales tax so Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can cover the interest payments on his government’s credit card.
That’s literally what’s happening. Interest charges on Canada’s debt will be $54 billion this year. GST revenues will be $54 billion.
That’s something to think about in the checkout line.
Interest charges on the debt will cost taxpayers $1 billion every week.
For a little more perspective: the feds are spending more money on interest charges than they are on health transfers to the provinces.
Let that sink in for a second. Then think about what we could do if it weren’t for the federal debt.
Well, we could double federal health spending.
Or we could eliminate the GST.
Debt doubles under Trudeau
The federal debt will total more than $1.2 trillion this year.
When Trudeau first took power, the debt was $616 billion. That means Trudeau will have officially doubled the national debt in just nine years.
Ironically, the feds titled their latest budget, “Fairness for every generation,” as they pile on more and more debt that Canadians’ kids and grandkids will spend their whole lives making payments on.
No plan to balance the budget
The deficit will total $40 billion this year and there is no plan to balance the budget.
The best this government can muster is a pinkie promise they’ll bring down the deficit to $20 billion five years from now.
But when we’re talking about a prime minister who says the “budget will balance itself,” and admits he doesn’t “think much” about monetary policy, even a $20-billion deficit five years from now may be wishful thinking.
Spending up $37.1 billionÂ
In the last budget, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said she would find “$15 billion of savings.”
Shall we check in on her progress?
Freeland is increasing spending by $37.1 billion, from $497.5 billion to $534.6 billion.
Here’s a pro-tip for Freeland: if you’re increasing spending by more than $37 billion in one year, you’re saving money wrong.
Feds hiking taxes
The federal government is increasing capital gains taxes.
This means the taxman will get his grubby fingers on an additional $6.9 billion of taxpayer cash.
With the way this government spends money, Trudeau will blow through that in less than a week.
The Trudeau government is trying to spin the capital gains tax hike as a way to go after the wealthiest Canadians while protecting the middle class.
Only one problem with that…
The Trudeau government just walloped middle-class Canadians with tax hikes a few weeks ago, when it increased carbon and alcohol taxes on April 1.
Quick hits
Budget 2024 allocated an additional $37 million for Trudeau’s gun confiscation scheme.
The scheme has not yet launched and not a single gun has been confiscated. But somehow the feds have already spent $42 million.
In other news, CBC President Catherine Tait crying poor worked – again.
The Trudeau government earmarked $42 million in extra funding for everyone’s favourite state broadcaster (we kid).
The CBC’s annual budget is now more than $1.4 billion.
You gotta pay for all those bonuses somehow…
VIDEO: Trudeau’s budget disaster
CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano was on Parliament Hill this week breaking down the taxpayer takeaways from Budget 2024.
You can share the video below on social media to help spread the word.
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