Trudeau Popularity - or not (various polling, etc.)

[Fishbone Jones]

I really agree with this. Think about the Brand. If Justin Trudeau had not stepped into the job where were Liberals headed?
He is driving the Federal brand into the same ditch Wynne wound up taking the Ontario Provincial bunch. I think that is fitting as the Telford bunch think they are living the West Wing with Canadian dollars and high school dreams.

What is telling is the absolute silence from the Laurentien Elites. Heads in the sand hoping he'll go away without too much of a stink.

 

[Haggis]

Trudeau is one step closer to a big win on an important campaign promise. Today the Senate rejected every proposed amendment to the Liberal Bill C-21, the gun ban.

 

[QV]

What is telling is the absolute silence from the Laurentien Elites. Heads in the sand hoping he'll go away without too much of a stink.

Perhaps they want Trudeau to own and go down with the ship. Why waste another good candidate starting from the back foot? Maybe the game plan is to let Trudeau run the course and lose, then after a period in opposition while the CPC struggles to repair the enormous LPC fiscal damage and loses support in that effort from the entitled voters, the LPC come rolling in as saviors, safely distanced from the Trudeau years.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Perhaps they want Trudeau to own and go down with the ship. Why waste another good candidate starting from the back foot? Maybe the game plan is to let Trudeau run the course and lose, then after a period in opposition while the CPC struggles to repair the enormous LPC fiscal damage and loses support in that effort from the entitled voters, the LPC come rolling in as saviors, safely distanced from the Trudeau years.

It'll take more than the next election to scrub the trudeau liberal stain from the memory of Canadians.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

This could explain a lot. Imagine him trying to understand freeloaders budget? He can't understand basic math, never mind the convoluted, non sensible crap she shoves on Canadians.

 

[OldSolduer]

It'll take more than the next election to scrub the trudeau liberal stain from the memory of Canadians.

I still haven't forgotten Pierre's legacy of debt and division. His handling of Federal Provincial relations was not a thing of beauty.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Perhaps they want Trudeau to own and go down with the ship. Why waste another good candidate starting from the back foot? Maybe the game plan is to let Trudeau run the course and lose, then after a period in opposition while the CPC struggles to repair the enormous LPC fiscal damage and loses support in that effort from the entitled voters, the LPC come rolling in as saviors, safely distanced from the Trudeau years.

You just explained the Canadian federal voting cycle.

 

[Lumber]

Exactly. Now if only they could tax sedentary people, and people who operate large, dangerous objects near other people, and those who eat foods that have sugar and/or cholesterol in them.

I just want to be sure I understand you; you're saying you disagree with the original law and its intent, and see no problem with allowing smoking to continue so that the government can continue to make money of peoples' deadly addiction?

 

[daftandbarmy]

Trudeau is one step closer to a big win on an important campaign promise. Today the Senate rejected every proposed amendment to the Liberal Bill C-21, the gun ban.

 

[Halifax Tar]

I just want to be sure I understand you; you're saying you disagree with the original law and its intent, and see no problem with allowing smoking to continue so that the government can continue to make money of peoples' deadly addiction?

Yup and it's called a sin tax. And it should be huge. And it should be on all fast foods, crap foods, tobacco products, alcohol, drugs and legalized prostitution. I'm sure I'm missing some things.

 

[Good2Golf]

I'm sure I'm missing some things.

…political contributions…

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Trudeau is one step closer to a big win on an important campaign promise. Today the Senate rejected every proposed amendment to the Liberal Bill C-21, the gun ban.

Have you got a link? I can't find anything on it.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Spending on the party faithful, no doubt

Federal government maintains high levels of spending and abandons fiscal anchor​

The Trudeau government released its fall economic statement on Tuesday, which updates taxing, spending and borrowing estimates provided in this year’s budget plan. While the government didn’t increase overall spending this year from spring budget estimates, federal spending remains at substantial levels and the government continues to argue there’s nothing wrong with its fiscal approach.

Prime Minister Trudeau has recorded the five highest levels of per-person spending (2018 to 2022, inflation-adjusted) in Canadian history and is on track to add a sixth year to his record. Federal program spending (total expenditures minus debt interest costs) will reach a forecasted $449.8 billion this year, which represents a nominal increase of 75.5 per cent compared to when the Trudeau government first took office. This represents $11,395 per person in aggregate spending expected for 2023/24—higher than spending during the 2009 recession and both World Wars (adjusted for inflation).

The federal government will borrow to fund its spending, resulting in a projected budgetary deficit of $40.0 billion this year, and future spending is on the rise. Spending from 2024 to 2027 is now projected to be $30.7 billion higher than previous forecasts, with that increase funded entirely by debt. Moreover, there’s no plan to return to balanced budgets at any point in the fiscal plan.

Moreover, spending estimates in the fall update are most likely an understatement. The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released a report suggesting that federal subsidies for electric vehicle battery manufacturing, which the government initially estimated would cost $37.7 billion, now have a $43.6 billion price tag. The Trudeau government will also likely soon table legislation for a national pharmacare program, which the PBO expects to add $11.2 billion to annual spending in 2024/25.

The Trudeau government seems committed to racking up high spending bills year after year, despite warnings from Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem that “government spending is starting to get in the way of getting inflation back to target.” By continually increasing or maintaining high levels of spending, the Trudeau government is helping fuel inflation and contributing to the affordability issues facing Canadians.

Given the Trudeau government’s propensity to spend more than it has in revenue, gross debt (total liabilities) is also on the rise. Gross debt is now estimated to be $2.0 trillion for 2023/24—an increase of $721.6 billion since the pandemic began. And debt interest costs have surged higher than previously forecasted to reach $46.5 billion for 2023/24. This represents more than 10 per cent of federal revenue, which violates the maximum percentage recommended to the government by David Dodge, former Bank of Canada governor.

Moreover, the government has largely abandoned its fiscal anchor of declining its debt relative to the size of the economy. Federal debt is forecasted to rise as a share of GDP in both 2023 and 2024. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is now committing to only decrease debt-to-GDP after 2024/25 and decrease the deficit as a share of the economy next year. But as weak as these commitments are, the government has repeatedly abandoned its own previous fiscal anchors, so it’s difficult to believe it will stick to the new plan. Without having a proper fiscal anchor, there’s nothing guiding the direction of spending and borrowing.

Despite all of this, Prime Minister Trudeau claims his government has “always exercised fiscal restraint.” Though the government did recently find $500 million in departmental savings for 2023/24, with the lion’s share coming from the Department of National Defence, this is a drop in the bucket compared to the $449.8 billion it plans for program spending this year. Furthermore, in direct response to Prime Minister Trudeau’s claim, the PBO’s Yves Giroux spoke on the government’s track record, explaining that “even outside of pandemic spending, there has always been steady increases in government spending” essentially saying the government hasn’t demonstrated fiscal restraint.

So, what has all this spending and debt brought us?

Living standards are dropping in Canada. Based on estimates presented in the fall economic update, gross domestic product (GDP) per person—a broad measure of living standards—is 3.1 per cent lower today than it was last year (adjusted for inflation), and is expected to fall even further in 2024.

Not only are Canadians today feeling the burden of the Trudeau government’s high levels of spending, but future generations will bear the burden of repaying all the debt that’s been accumulated. Future generations will be on the hook for paying off this debt, and the resulting interest costs, likely through higher taxes.

As part of Tuesday’s fall economic update, the federal government has once again abandoned its fiscal anchor and maintained high levels of spending. Such levels of government spending and debt place a significant burden on both current and future Canadians.

BLOG: Federal government maintains high levels of spending and abandons fiscal anchor

Projected federal spending from 2024 to 2027 is now $30.7 billion higher than previous forecasts.

www.fraserinstitute.org

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Pity Justin Trudeau, whose failed premiership is coming to a crashing end

His political descent mirrors that of other “progressive” leaders in recent times, notably New Zealand’s Jacinda Arden

www.telegraph.co.uk

The comments are far from flattering. I keep saying how despised he is outside Canada. This is a small sample.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Pity Justin Trudeau, whose failed premiership is coming to a crashing end

His political descent mirrors that of other “progressive” leaders in recent times, notably New Zealand’s Jacinda Arden

www.telegraph.co.uk

The comments are far from flattering. I keep saying how despised he is outside Canada. This is a small sample.

The 'Tory-graph' is a famously hard right rag, so a natural enemy of the limousine Liberal.

I like their stuff but usually keep a pinch of salt with me. Same goes for their left wing nemesis: the 'Daily Prole/ Guardian'.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

The 'Tory-graph' is a famously hard right rag, so a natural enemy of the limousine Liberal.

I like their stuff but usually keep a pinch of salt with me. Same goes for their left wing nemesis: the 'Daily Prole/ Guardian'.

Cheers

 

[Haggis]

Have you got a link? I can't find anything on it.

The four hour + video of the clause by clause vote is here.

 

[Lumber]

Yup and it's called a sin tax. And it should be huge. And it should be on all fast foods, crap foods, tobacco products, alcohol, drugs and legalized prostitution. I'm sure I'm missing some things.

I can't tell if that's sarcasm Tar. With you being a bit of a libertarian, I'd think the idea of a Sin tax would be anathema to you. (I apologize if that's an inaccurate characterization of your political leaning).

 

[Kirkhill]

The 'Tory-graph' is a famously hard right rag, so a natural enemy of the limousine Liberal.

I like their stuff but usually keep a pinch of salt with me. Same goes for their left wing nemesis: the 'Daily Prole/ Guardian'.

In both cases you know what you are getting because their biases are clear.

 

[Rifleman62]

The Trudeau govt counts the CPP as an asset. It's not. Nor does it take into consideration defined benefit pension liability.​

The truth about Canada’s debt - And it’s far worse than Ottawa is letting on​

National Post - 29 Nov 2023 - Tristin hopper

One of the main takeaways from last week’s fall economic update was that federal debt — which has already doubled under the eight years of the Trudeau government — is set to continue accumulating at a record pace.

Gone are any prior Liberal promises of a return to a balanced budget, and, instead, the federal deficit is set to remain stuck between $30 billion and $40 billion for the foreseeable future. By 2025, debt servicing payments are expected to top $50 billion per year, putting them roughly on par with the amount of money the feds spend each year on health-care transfers.

The Trudeau government’s usual counterpoint to all this is that Canada’s debt situation is still in great shape as compared to its peer countries. According to the fall economic statement, Canada “maintains both the lowest deficit and net debt-to-gdp ratios of all G7 countries.”

“Years of responsible fiscal stewardship have left Canada in an enviable fiscal position relative to our global peers,” reads an introduction.

But while Canada is doing exponentially better than the debt burdens of such nations as Japan or the U.S., discussions of debt often contain a glaring omission: They don’t account for Canada’s remarkably high rate of sub-sovereign debt. As a result, when the debt from all Canada’s 10 provinces is mixed in with its total federal debt, Canada emerges as one of the more indebted nations in the developed world.

The OECD — an organization comprising most of the world’s developed economies — keeps a running tally of “general government debt,” a figure that tallies up the debt held by all levels of a country’s government.

According to the latest count, Canada has the 10th highest debt-to-gdp burden of the OECD’S 38 members. It’s 24 points higher than the OECD average, and more than double that of Mexico, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

According to the fall economic statement, Ottawa currently tallies its federal debt at about 42 per cent of GDP. But when provincial and federal debt is mixed together as “general government debt,” the OECD finds that Canada owes an amount equivalent to 113 per cent of its GDP.

This is to say that if Canadians were somehow able to pay every single dollar they earned toward paying off government debts, it would still take about 13 consecutive months before the debt was paid down.

By this measure, Canada also stops being the most “enviable” member of the G7, at least when it comes to debt. The U.K.’S “general government” debt is only 103 per cent of GDP.

Canada’s “general government debt” is so high, in fact, that whenever economists do studies of sub-sovereign debt, they’ve been known to remark at how unique it is that the vast majority of Canada’s government debt is held by provincial governments.

“Canada stands out for its high level of subnational debt, which accounts for around 60 per cent of total public debt,” reads an OECD report from 2020.
Even in the U.S. — where several state governments have debt loads in the hundreds of billions of dollars — the majority of “general government debt” is still held at the federal level.

Canada’s “peer countries,” meanwhile, comprise many nations that have little to no sub-sovereign debt whatsoever. “Unitary” countries like Ireland or South Korea run most of the government from the federal level — including the ability to incur liabilities.

CANADA STANDS OUT FOR ITS HIGH LEVEL OF SUBNATIONAL DEBT.

This is most notably true of France, where power is deeply centralized and local governments are curtailed in their ability to finance spending through borrowing.
As a result, when Canada and France are compared in terms of raw federal debt, France easily emerges as the most indebted nation.

According to the most recent IMF numbers, France has enough “central government debt” to equal 92 per cent of its GDP, against a mere 49.8 per cent for Canada.

But when provincial debt is added onto Canada’s debt pile, the country is suddenly close to par with France. Canada’s “general government debt” of 113 per cent of GDP is only four points away from France’s 117 per cent.