Liberals Pledge $130 Billion in New Spending, Expanded Deficit in Platform

The Liberal Party has released the price tag of its election platform, which comes to about $130 billion in new spending over the next four years while running deficits until at least the fiscal year 2028–2029.

Most of the items have been previously announced on the campaign trail by leader Mark Carney.

New defence spending, housing, and tax cuts are some of the commitments that come with the biggest price tag included in the $130 billion.

It’s a move that Carney said was deliberate. “We don’t think to assume that those tariff revenues are in place is prudent at all, so we concentrate them today and we’ll deal with tomorrow,” he said during a campaign stop in Whitby, Ontario.

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The costed platform predicts a deficit of $62.3 billion this fiscal year, followed by a lower deficit in 2026-27 of $60 billion It forecasts a further drop for the 2027-28 fiscal year to a deficit of $55 billion and $48 billion in 2028-29.

“This is not a normal sort of fall update, budget lockup kind of thing,” Carney said. “We are in the middle of the biggest crisis of our lifetime, and this is a plan that meets that moment in a way that is very prudent with people’s hard earned tax dollars, but bold in terms of where this country can go.”

Carney said a government run by him would also tackle spending, saying the Liberal government had been previously spending “too much.”

“We’re going to bring that level of spending growth down from 9 percent to 2 percent, and we will do it,” he said.

“We will not cut any transfers to provinces, to territories, or individuals. We will protect all of those but we will balance our operating budget over the next three years by cutting waste, by eliminating duplication, and by deploying technology.”

Boosting Military Spending

The Liberals committed to an increase of more than $18 billion toward national defence and to meet NATO’s target of 2 percent of GDP by 2029/30. The spending increase will cover a pay raise for Canadian Armed Forces members, the platform document said.

Carney’s plan also includes “rapidly increasing” housing on bases across Canada, cover the cost of primary child care and health care armed forces’ members and their families.

The platform also includes money for new submarines and heavy icebreakers for the Royal Canadian Navy.

Canada will also buy more aerial and underwater drones to survey the Arctic and border under the Liberal plan. Money will also be spent on Canadian-made airborne early warning and control aircraft, and on building a “network of deepwater ports” for the Canadian armed forces in the Arctic.

Housing Fund

The platform includes spending for a housing building fund dubbed Build Canada Homes.

Carney’s plan would see $25 billion financing offered to prefabricated homebuilders, and also includes spending $10 billion in financing and capital for affordable homes.

Tax Cuts

The Liberals have also included their promise to cut the tax rate for the lowest income bracket, bringing it down 1 percent from 15 percent to 14 percent, as announced previously.

Carney said the cut would come into effect by Canada Day.