OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney will emphasize the tough choices needed to meet his lofty investment promises in a primetime address on Wednesday discussing his government’s first budget, a source familiar with the speech said.
Evening speeches from the Prime Minister are rare in Canada, which is locked in trade disputes with its two largest trading partners, the United States and China.
Carney, who was elected in April, has stressed to Canadians they are in a time of crisis when large spending is needed to boost the economy, but his government is also under pressure to show how it will reduce the deficit over time.
Economists forecast the government’s fiscal deficit for the year 2025/26 will be between C$70 billion and C$100 billion, a massive jump from the projected C$43 billion for the fiscal year that ended March 2025.
The budget will be released on November 4.
Carney has promised a massive scale-up in defense spending and housing infrastructure and foregone revenues through tax cuts and relief measures for tariff-hit industries.
He is expected to reveal some details of the budget at 7.30 p.m. ET (2330 GMT) and discuss the need to make responsible choices and generational investments, the source said.
Carney, who will depart on his first trip to Asia on Friday, will also discuss his plan to diversify trade away from the United States over the next 10 years, the source said, as well as the government’s new immigration plan and a strategy to attract the right talent.
His televised address is also likely to include details of Canada’s new climate strategy, the source added.
(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Nia Williams)
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