(Ottawa) Prime Minister and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau refused again on Friday to commit to presenting a plan to return to balanced budgets, even if a resolution from the Quebec wing of his party is adopted by the members. gathered in congress.
“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, ”replied Mr. Trudeau in a press scrum.
He has repeatedly avoided answering questions directly from journalists trying to clarify whether it is a priority for him, whether the resolution is 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.
However, these arguments clearly do not convince Quebec activists whose resolution does not pass by four roads. She demands that the Liberal Party of Canada give itself a “quantified and clear proposal” to return to a balanced budget and that it “be part of the electoral platform” of the party for the next elections.
Members explain in the preamble that the federal debt rose from 30% of GDP in 2015-2016 – when the Liberals came to power – to almost 50% in 2021-2022, which “concerns many Canadians”, although it remains “proportionally reasonable” compared to that of other major countries in the world.
They also note that Canadians “will likely place significant importance” on the presence of a program to reduce the debt and return to balanced budgets when choosing a party to govern the country in the next election.
In its most recent budget, which was tabled last March, the Trudeau government gave up on its projection of a return to balanced budgets in five years.
Friday morning, Mr. Trudeau put the weight of the request from the Quebec wing into perspective, believing that it is only one of the many resolutions which will cause “great debates between Liberals” and which will be voted on Saturday.
“We are going to look at what the recommendations and the perspective of the party and its activists will be,” he said without making any commitment.
Called to comment on the resolution, the Minister of Health and former professor of economics Jean-Yves Duclos did not seem particularly favorable to it.
“We are in a solid fiscal and financial situation: an economy that is growing rapidly, more than all the other G7 countries this year, an unemployment rate that is at an all-time low, a record level of investment, people who want come invest and live here in Canada with us. So many very positive indicators that we want to continue to maintain,” he said.
According to him, the resolution is in line with the most recent federal budget, namely to “maintain the tax advantages […]in a context where the investments that go with the expenditures of the Canadian government are largely responsible for the sustained growth that we are seeing in Canada”.
The delegates present at the congress will have to 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 continues until Saturday.