US EditionOttawa’s Operating Spending — Not Capital — Driving Deeper Deficits: PBO
The Parliamentary Budget Officer forecasts an average $64.3 billion deficit over five years and only a 7.5% chance of meeting the deficit-to-GDP reduction target.
- On Nov. 14, 2025, Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques projected Ottawa will run an average deficit of $64.3 billion over five years and miss Budget 2025 fiscal anchors.
- The Nov. 4 budget introduced a new presentation dividing spending into operational or capital categories, with the federal Liberals saying it fulfills Prime Minister Mark Carney's pledge to `spend less` on day-to-day items and `invest more` in capital.
- The PBO's assessment finds the capital definition overly broad, categorizing corporate and investment tax credits as capital, which United Kingdom rules would not allow, and recommends an independent expert body to decide capital spending.
- By the PBO's measure, the operating budget would not be balanced over the next few years and the deficit-to-GDP ratio has only a 7.5-per-cent chance to decline annually from 2026-27 to 2029-30.
- Over the long term, the PBO says Budget 2025 departs from prior debt-to-GDP pledges and warns Ottawa will have limited fiscal room without raising the debt-to-GDP ratio.
37 Articles
37 Articles
7 Takeaways From the Budget Watchdog’s Review of Budget 2025
The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has released its latest report on Budget 2025, and it questions some of the government’s key fiscal assumptions. Interim PBO Jason Jacques said in September that his office estimated the budget’s projected deficit would be $68.5 billion, adding that Canada’s fiscal trajectory was “unsustainable” and “shocking.” The deficit for 2025 given in the Nov. 4 budget is $78.3 billion. While the PBO’s Nov. 14 report u…
The federal budget includes new daily expenditures of $87 billion over five years.
Budget watchdog slams Carney for overinflating capital spending by nearly $100B
Source: XAuthor: Quinn PatrickThe Parliamentary Budget Officer just blew the whistle on the Carney government’s shady accounting, catching the Liberals trying to hide billions in operating costs by burying them in the capital budget.The Liberals’ Budget 2025 introduces a new split between “operating” and “capital” spending, with a promise to balance the operating budget by 2028-29.We need your support to continue producing hard-hitting news and …
The federal government is expected to have an average deficit of $64.3 billion over the next five years, says the Acting Parliamentary Budget Officer.
Interim PBO takes aim at Liberal accounting, but says budget is sustainable over long term
Days before MPs are set to cast their vote on the Liberal budget, interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques is calling the government’s accounting into question, suggesting there’s a less than 10 per cent chance it will stay within its deficit targets.
Ottawa’s operating spending — not capital — driving deeper deficits: PBO
The parliamentary budget officer projects the federal Liberals will narrowly maintain long-term fiscal sustainability with their new budget, but day-to-day spending measures mean Ottawa will blow past its new fiscal anchors.
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