Canada’s new parliamentary budget official criticized the government’s spring economic update on Thursday for its lack of detail on spending targets and outcomes.
Appearing before the House of Commons government operations committee, Annette Ryan said the update provided some progress metrics but did little to mention specific risks and goals.
“This update instead introduces a new and as yet undefined set of priorities, strategies and general objectives, which will also benefit from greater accountability, governance details and other planning aspects that will inform Parliament about what outcomes the government is targeting for its spending,” Ryan said.
“The Canada Strong Fund is a prime example of that list.”
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne on Tuesday proposed a mid-year fiscal update that includes $54.5 billion in new costs and expenditures from the 2025 Budget.
Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday announced plans to launch the Canada Strong Fund, Canada’s first sovereign wealth fund. The funds are intended to support nation-building projects, although few details were provided in a spring economic update.
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Plans to borrow $25 billion for the fund’s initial capitalization were not identified in a line item in the fiscal update. Champagne said that is standard practice in accrual accounting.
The Liberals now estimate last year’s federal deficit at $66.9 billion, $11 billion lower than the 2025 budget estimate of $78.3 billion, largely due to improving economic performance and some deviations in spending plans.
Ryan said the spring economic update mentioned government efforts to cut costs, but details were “pretty limited.”
“For the record, they did not provide estimates of savings in the first year of the plan by department or estimates of reductions in full-time or federal jobs,” he said.
Based on a spring update, Ryan said his office estimates that the federal debt per Canadian will increase from $33,592 this year to $38,295 five years from now.
Ryan said his office will publish a series of documents early next week on the spring update.
“Over the next few days, I will be reaching out to lawmakers, including committee chairs, to hear your views on how best my office can continue to support your work in terms of what is already working and aspects that can be improved to ensure greater accountability from the government,” he said.
— With files from Craig Lord
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