Liberals are ‘running out of time’ heading into fall economic update. Here’s why
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government faces pressures from two ends heading into Tuesday’s fall economic statement.
On one end, multiple recent polls show the three-term government’s popularity sliding in the eyes of voters as opposition parties land attacks on the Liberals’ track record.
On the other, Canada’s economy is slowing and limiting Ottawa’s capacity to deliver relief to Canadians who are feeling the pinch of higher interest rates and the rising cost of living.
Experts tell Global News that Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will have a tall task ahead of her when she rises in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon to deliver an update on the federal government’s finances.
“This is a difficult time for any finance minister to give an update to the nation,” says Sahir Khan, executive vice-president of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy at the University of Ottawa.
“Normally, you get to these economic statements and you’re either dealing with political pressure or you’re dealing with economic pressures. Minister Freeland has to contend with both of them.”
Much of the Liberals’ fall agenda in the House of Commons has revolved around affordability and housing issues; Freeland has signalled in recent weeks that the fall update will focus on the same themes.
The annual inflation rate has cooled from last year’s highs but remained at 3.8 per cent in the latest reading, with grocery costs still rising above that pace. Much of what’s driving up the cost of living today are mortgage payments, with Canadians renewing into higher interest rates from the Bank of Canada.
Darrell Bricker, global CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, says that when the polling firm speaks with Canadians about what issues are
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