(OTTAWA) Liberal Party of Canada activists have ruled out demanding that Justin Trudeau run in the next federal election with a costed program to return to balanced budgets.
The resolution sponsored by the Quebec branch of the Liberal Party of Canada was defeated on Saturday by a vote of 97 in favor and 76 against. The vote took place without a single member present claiming a debate.
The resolution demanded that the Liberal Party of Canada “develop a quantified and clear proposal to return to a balanced budget” and that this proposal be part of the electoral platform in anticipation of the next election.
Simon Daigle, a member of the Liberal Association of Laurier-Sainte-Marie, presented the resolution by recalling that Canada had accumulated high expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic and that the debt had exploded in an extraordinary and unprecedented way. in times of peace.
The members therefore preferred to give free rein to their leader in the management of public finances.
Before leaving the congress on Friday to travel to London to attend the coronation of King Charles III, Justin Trudeau had thrown cold water on the correctness of adopting such a resolution.
“The most important thing for me is to create a strong and resilient economy in which we can continue to invest and create good jobs. We know that it is essential to demonstrate fiscal responsibility, which we are still doing, ”said Mr. Trudeau in a press scrum.
He had subsequently repeatedly avoided answering questions directly from journalists who tried to clarify whether it was a priority for him, whether the resolution was adopted or not.
Instead, Mr. Trudeau repeated what is beginning to become a mantra: that Canada has the lowest deficit in the G7, the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, and is one of the three largest countries in the world with a AAA credit rating.
In its most recent budget, which was tabled last March, the Trudeau government postponed the return to a balanced budget indefinitely. Since coming to power in 2015, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have never presented a balanced budget.
In all, the delegates present at the convention must vote on about thirty resolutions. Some propose that the age required to vote in federal elections be lowered to 17, recommend establishing a guaranteed basic income and establishing an electric high-speed train in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor.
The National Convention of the Liberal Party of Canada ends Saturday afternoon.
With the Canadian Press