Taxpayer groups calls on Carney to prove he’s different than Trudeau

Taxpayer groups are putting the heat on Prime Minister Mark Carney, demanding he prove he’s not just another Justin Trudeau.

Source: Facebook

Taxpayer groups are putting the heat on Prime Minister Mark Carney, demanding he prove he’s not just another Justin Trudeau.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) called on Carney to lead a government of austerity, as he had promised Canadians while on the campaign trail earlier this year.

The CTF said it’s time for Carney to “change course” regarding his upcoming federal budget, which will be tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday “by cutting spending and providing a plan to cut government debt.”

“Carney sold Canadians on the idea that he would be different than former prime minister Justin Trudeau and he needs to prove that by cutting spending, debt and bureaucracy in Budget 2025,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano in a statement released on Friday.

“After a decade-long debt-fuelled spending spree, taxpayers can’t afford another Trudeau-style budget.”

The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s latest projections show Carney is on track to increase the debt by $255 billion over the next four years, far exceeding his predecessor. In contrast, the Liberals’ Fall Economic Statement from last year projected the Trudeau government would raise the debt by $131 billion over the same period.

In August, the CTF’s pre-budget submission called on the Carney government to find new savings, decrease total spending and reduce the federal bureaucracy.

“After years of runaway spending, taxpayers’ benchmark for Budget 2025 is simple: total spending must decrease. The Trudeau government spent $539.5 billion in 2024-25,” reads the submission.

“If the government increases spending by one cent more in 2025-26, it will get a failing grade from taxpayers. If spending goes down, it will get a passing grade from taxpayers.”

As a minority government, the Liberals need opposition support to pass their budget. Otherwise, Canadians will face a snap election as the budget is a confidence vote.

Thus far, the Conservatives, NDP and Bloc Québécois have all refused to say whether they will vote in favour of the budget.

However, interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques said Canadians will soon face challenges unlike anything he’s seen in decades.

“I can’t think of another time over the past 30 years where a government has said we both need to engage in significant austerity, I think the Prime Minister used the word austerity, and at the same time significant investment,” testified Jacques during the Senate national finance committee last month.

According to the PBO’s latest report, interest charges on the debt alone will cost taxpayers over $55 billion this year. That’s more than federal government transfers to provinces annually for health care.

By 2030, debt interest charges are projected to cost Canadians $82.4 billion annually.

“The government can’t keep borrowing more money forever and taxpayers can’t afford to pay $1 billion a week to cover debt interest charges,” Terrazzano said. “Carney needs to make the government more affordable for taxpayers and that means he needs to fire bureaucrats.”