Trudeau government spends twice as much as it takes in revenue

And the cycle of deficit spending is only escalating. According to documents released Friday by Canada’s Department of Finance, the Trudeau government had a budgetary deficit of $25.7 billion for the April 2023 to January 2024 period of the current fiscal year.

For the same period during the previous fiscal year, the Trudeau government posted a $6.4 billion deficit, about one-quarter of the more recent number.

In listing its financial record for the April to January period, the finance department noted that revenues had increased by $10.5 billion or 3 percent "largely reflecting higher personal income tax revenue, other taxes and duties, and other non-tax revenues. These increases were partially offset by lower corporate income tax revenues."

However, program expenses were more than twice that amount, registering at $21.2 billion or 6.7 percent, "reflecting increases across all major categories of spending."

The net result has been an increase of public debt charges of $10.4 billion, or 36 percent, "largely reflecting higher interest rates, offset in part by lower Consumer Price Index adjustments on Real Return Bonds."

Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is expected to deliver her annual budget on Apr.16. It is widely expected to include a deluge of spending programs as the Liberal government continues to trail the Official Opposition Conservative Party by up to 20 percentage points.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau infamously said that the "budget will balance itself" and in 2015 promised to balance the budget in four years.

"I think one of the things that Canadians expect is a level of fiscal responsibility that we've been able to demonstrate in the past and we're certainly going to demonstrate it in the future."

A vast majority – up to 72 percent – of Canadians want Trudeau to resign before the next federal election in October 2025.