Canadian Economy Will Have ‘Sluggish’ Growth This Year, PBO Warns

Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux has warned the Canadian economy will see “sluggish” growth in 2024, and that an increase in government spending may necessitate raising taxes. “The picture for this year in fact is very sluggish growth due to the impact of the monetary policy, the increase in interest rates that we have seen over the last several months, as well as slow economic growth from the consumer side,” Mr. Giroux said during a March 10 interview on CTV News. Ahead of the federal budget set to be tabled on April 16, Mr. Giroux said Ottawa’s goal of keeping Canada’s deficit at less than one percent of GDP from 2026 means it will have little room for new spending. He said with a current estimated deficit of 0.8 percent of GDP, there will only be room for around $6 billion to $7 billion in new spending by 2026....