Federal government to present economic update July 8

The Trudeau government will finally update the country on the state of government finances on July 8 when it will present a fiscal and economic update.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed today that the fiscal update is coming next month, as was first reported by CBC News.

The government shelved its plan to present a budget in March, as the coronavirus spread around the world and the country went on lockdown. It has been under pressure to give a detailed economic update ever since.

Until now, Trudeau has dismissed those calls, arguing there are simply too many variables to make an accurate projection of how the economy will respond.

“There are so many things we simply don’t know … making projections about what our economy would look like in six months from now or a year from now is simply an exercise in invention and imagination,” he told reporters last week at one of his daily briefings.

While the government has used the uncertainty as an excuse, others such as the parliamentary budget officer have published some analysis of the government’s spending and given regular updates on the impacts of pandemic-related spending on the deficit.

Trudeau is expected to make the announcement during his daily address at Rideau Cottage. Finance Minister Bill Morneau will provide the precise date later today.

CBC