Posthaste: 4 charts that tell you what you need to know about Canada's budget 2024

financialpost.com:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hit the trail to make a series of pre-budget announcements, mostly on housing, that left some wondering what was left to be said when the federal budget 2024 was released on Wednesday. It turned out, the Liberals still had some surprises in store for Canadians and businesses.

Here are four charts that break out some of the highlights in the new budget.

Ottawa was under pressure in this budget cycle to hold the line on the deficit. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland accomplished that, projecting a shortfall of $40 billion for the 2023-24 year, slightly better than the $40.1 billion deficit projected in the fall economic statement (FES).

“To achieve this, however, the government introduced several new taxes after … new spending was rolled out in recent weeks,” Rachel Battaglia, an economist at Royal Bank of Canada said in a note.

Looking out over the next five years, the deficits fall deeper in the red than the FES projections.

“Moreover, the projection shows no plan to balance the fiscal book on the projection horizon,” Charles St-Arnaud, an economist with Alberta Central, said in a note following the budget’s release.

Instead, Ottawa committed to reducing the deficit as a share of gross domestic product.

“A sub-one per cent deficit-to-GDP ratio from 2026-27 onwards is the official commitment,” National Bank of Canada economists said in a note.

Many economists criticized Ottawa over the past few years for spending at levels that helped to stoke inflation, but St-Arnaud doesn’t think this budget stirs that pot.

“With the overall deficit virtually unchanged, the budget has no important impact on the Bank of Canada’s fight against inflation,” St-Arnaud, said, and won’t be a factor in the central