By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com – In a speech in Oshawa today, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland outlined the Liberal government's priorities ahead of next week's 2023 federal budget release.
In the speech, Freeland noted the budget will prioritize "two significant and necessary investments": funding for healthcare, and building a clean economy for Canada.
Health care was widely expected to be a key element in the budget, with the federal government having tabled 10 year health-care funding deals totalling $196 billion with the majority of provinces already.
Freeland also added that the budget will include "targeted inflation relief" to support Canadians most acutely feeling the impact of rising consumer prices.
The Liberal government has faced mounting pressure to rein in spending after years of deficits that have increased the country's pre-existing debt, with economists warning that federal fiscal stimulus measures have exacerbated inflation as monetary policy seeks to cool it.
In today’s speech, Freeland noted that the budget "exercises fiscal restraint”, adding that it is “one of [the federal government’s] primary goals in this year’s budget: not to pour fuel on the fire of inflation.
The fall economic statement issued in November 2022 projected the federal deficit at $36.4 billion in 2022-23, down from the $52.8 billion forecast in the April 2022 federal budget.
Freeland has previously forecast that the federal budget could be back to balance by 2027-28.
The 2023 budget is set to be tabled on the 28th of March.