“We always have to remember that if the federal government has a deficit, then it means some other sector has a surplus. We need to understand which sector that is and, more importantly, if it’s desirable. In this case, the surplus will likely be created for high-income households and large, foreign-owned companies benefiting from defence spending—they are on the other side of this deficit.”
“This didn’t have to be the case. The government could have provided more support for unemployed workers through better Employment Insurance (EI) or beefed up one of the various low-income transfers. It could also have raised taxes on the rich in order to protect and improve public services.”
@patatas Not a chance. This is passing, one way or another.
My best guess at this point is that any potential floor-crosser is currently trying to extract as much federal spending for their riding as they can. Carney will be happy to oblige, of course; he just wants power.
My secret hope is that a couple of the Liberals that still care about climate and social programs (Gould? Erskine-Smith?) will leave the party, but I don’t think any of them have real backbone. Happy to be surprised though.
I don’t see how any good can come from a liberal majority.
Too bad the NDP self destructed.
@patatas It’s a tough situation for the PM, and I really don’t think he’s too worried about the power, but more the ability to get things done. He doesn’t seem to be one to mess around too much. And none of the parties are even close to ready for an election, and I honestly think the liberals would get a majority in a walk anyways. So there might be slight shift in seats, but lots of work to do still for all involved. And like the idea of distancing ourselves from the US…so let’s go!
Minority governments require negotiation. Every leader met w/ Carney pre-budget; none got anything they asked for. If Carney wanted to “get things done”, then why is he not working with the other elected members of parliament to do so?
Edit: also recent polling doesn’t look that amazing for the Liberals or Carney. The NDP could regain official party status in a new election, and disapproval of Carney and the Liberals has been rising. A majority is still within reach, but it’s not a foregone conclusion IMO.