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The federal deficit stood at $19.1-billion as of the end of November, the two-thirds mark of the current fiscal year, according to a monthly tracking report released Friday by the Finance Department.
The fiscal monitor report said the $19.1-billion deficit compares with a $3.6-bilion deficit during the same April to November period one year earlier. The deficit for November alone was $4-billion, compared with a $3.4-billion deficit in November, 2022.
Friday’s report suggests Ottawa is on track to stay within the pledge Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland made in her November fall economic statement, which was to keep the size of the 2023-24 deficit below $40.1-billion. However, these monthly reports need to be read with caution, given that deficit spending is often heavily back-loaded. That was definitely the case last year, when Ottawa’s bottom line swung dramatically in the final month of the fiscal year. After reporting a surplus over the first 11 months, the government posted a $44.4-billion deficit in the last month of that fiscal year.
After year-end adjustments, the official deficit figure for 2022-23 was $35.3-billion. The fall update projected the deficit for the current fiscal year would be $40-billion.
This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. Today’s newsletter is co-written with Bill Curry. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you’re reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Top UN court orders Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza, but fails to order ceasefire: The International Court of Justice, in a historic ruling in The Hague, has ordered Israel to take emergency steps to prevent genocide in Gaza and to allow urgent humanitarian aid in the Palestinian territory.
Canada’s chief technology officer accused of manipulating, destroying files at CBSA: Minh Doan, a central figure in the hearings related to the ArriveCan app and contracting misconduct allegations, faces accusations of taking unusual steps that led to the destruction of e-mails at the Canada Border Services Agency, a claim he strongly denies. Story here.
Election watchdog probing foreign-interference complaint, former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu says: Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu said he was interviewed twice by staff from the Commissioner of Canada Elections in 2023. To his knowledge, he said, investigators have visited the riding three times.
Trudeau seeks to rally Liberal caucus while former cabinet minister David Lametti quits politics : Lametti, who was justice minister until he was shuffled out of cabinet in July, said the Prime Minister has “earned the right to say whether he wants to stay or not,” but added that he is “definitely concerned” by the polls.
Ukrainian Canadian group criticizes Poilievre for voting against measures for Kyiv: The League of Ukrainian Canadians, founded in 1949, wrote Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre a letter last month to accuse the Official Opposition of backing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ontario cabinet minister Parm Gill quits to run for federal Conservatives: Gill has been an MPP since 2018 and served in Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet since 2021, first as citizenship and multiculturalism minister and then as the minister of red-tape reduction. The two-term MPP has represented Milton, a suburban riding west of Toronto. Story here.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says working with Liberals on pharmacare like wrestling with ‘slimy’ eels: Singh told a town-hall meeting in Edmonton, where the New Democrats are holding a caucus retreat, that dealing with the federal government is “not fun,” adding, “They’re just slimy and break their promises.”
Ottawa to ensure international student cap doesn’t target francophones: Minister Marc Miller’s office says he is concerned the cap could lead English-speaking provinces to target francophone institutions, resulting in a disproportionate reduction in the number of French-speaking students in Canada, including those from African countries, such as Ivory Coast.
Departing coroner says there is no data to determine whether B.C.’s treatment facilities are working: In a wide-ranging interview with The Globe and Mail, Lisa Lapointe made a final push for the province to put in place data collection standards for drug treatment and recovery services, ahead of her retirement next month.
Governing not ‘easy work,’ says New Brunswick Premier as he prepares for election: Blaine Higgs delivered his state of the province speech Thursday, singing the praises of his government’s achievements and making a passing mention to the changes made to the policy on gender identity in school, as he faces an election this year.
THIS AND THAT
Newsletter Correction - The new child of Karina Gould, who is on maternity leave from her post as Government House Leader, is a girl, not a boy as reported in Thursday’s newsletter.
Commons returns Monday: The House of Commons is on a break until Monday. The Senate sits again on Feb. 6. The first government bill that’s up for debate Monday is C-59, which implements parts of the government’s fall economic update, including tax changes related to green incentives and a new Digital Services Tax. Monday is also the first opportunity for various offices to have their reports tabled in Parliament. Procurement Ombudsman Alexander Jeglic could table a report on contracting issues related to the ArriveCan app as soon as Monday. Auditor-General Karen Hogan is releasing a report on ArriveCan on Feb. 12. In committee, one of the highlights next week will be Interim Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein’s Tuesday appearance before the House ethics committee. The committee recently committee agreed to call on the Ethics Commissioner to explain the rules governing travel, vacations and gifts at a hearing about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent family trip to Jamaica, which was gifted by a friend.
Ministers on the Road: Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier, in the Gaspé Peninsula village of Rivière-au-Renard, was scheduled to announce support for fisheries in Quebec and Atlantic Canada.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Justin Trudeau attended the winter Liberal caucus retreat in Ottawa and was also scheduled to participate in the International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony.
LEADERS
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May holds private meetings in Vancouver.
No schedules released for other party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
On today’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, senior political reporter Marieke Walsh explains this week’s ruling by a Federal Court judge that the Trudeau government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act against the 2022 convoy protests was unjustified and violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She also talks about how this finding is different from last year’s inquiry findings and what this all means for the Trudeau government. The Decibel is here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how Canada is poised to power up: “Canada is a country built on natural resources – oil, trees, fish – but one such advantage has long been taken for granted: an abundance of clean power. Unlike the United States and many other countries, Canada has a mostly clean power grid, led by hydro and nuclear. It has been clear for several years that the future of the economy, and slashing emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, would be built on a lot more clean power. Yet provinces had been hesitant to make any big moves. The future demands something different.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on how the Liberals face nothing but trouble if Parliament does not dissolve by April 22: “If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does not ask the Governor-General to dissolve Parliament between now and April 22, as seems likely, the next federal election will be fought with a redistributed and expanded House of Commons. That change offers nothing but trouble for the Liberals. There will be five new seats in the House of Commons, and the Liberals have little hope of winning four of them. If they lose the fifth, it will probably mean they’ve lost the election.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on a reckoning coming with the junior hockey sexual-assault scandal: “Upon hearing that five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team had been told to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges, the response of many in the country was undoubtedly: justice, finally. Perhaps. But we should never forget the degree to which some of those in positions of power and influence attempted to ensure that details of this ugly and disturbing alleged incident never saw the light of day.”
Jake Fuss and Grady Munro (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Justin Trudeau rejects ‘austerity’ – but what has his free-spending accomplished?: “This week, at the Liberal cabinet retreat in Montreal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters he’s against “austerity and cuts” and believes his government must “invest” to “create greater growth” in the economy, thus dashing hopes for any meaningful spending restraint in the coming federal budget. But evidence shows the government’s current plan has not helped the economy despite the Prime Minister’s claims. Rather than double-down on a failed strategy of higher spending, taxes and borrowing, the Trudeau government should change direction immediately.”
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Ian Bailey
Bill Curry