More fun with numbers. In April 2019, the International Monetary Fund predicted Canada’s economy would grow 1.5 per cent! Hooray! Surely the Liberals could cite this as evidence that their deficit-ridden approach was working. Except . . .
Federal deficit: $18.1 billion
Provincial deficit (combined): $8.4 billion
Total deficit: $26.5 billion
Which means our total deficit works out to be . . . drum roll please . . . 1.2 per cent of our GDP.
In other words, what little growth there was is effectively cancelled out by deficits. It’s like taking out a huge bank loan and then swaggering about boasting of how rich you’ve suddenly become. Handy tip from the Justin Trudeau School of Economics: When the bank forecloses on your home, walk in, head held high, and say, “My bank account will balance itself!”
If the government spends $20 billion more than it takes in, is this “balanced”? You can take a moment to ponder that while we play the Jeopardy! theme song in the background . . .