Carney set to give announcement on upcoming federal budget

Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to give a rare televised address Wednesday night on the Liberal government’s plans for its first budget.

But the Prime Minister is offering no hints about what he will say – Carney himself declining to reveal anything to reporters on his way inside parliament.

Adding to the intrigue, perhaps, the 7:30 address comes after a private meeting with Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre Wednesday afternoon.

There was a little sparring in the house before their budget meeting.

“Will the Prime Minister learn from the inflationary costly failures of the ten years of Liberal government and accept our plan for an affordable budget,” said Poilievre.

“This budget will get operational spending under control. It will balance our spending over the next three years,” said Carney.

Carney’s minority Liberal government needs support for his budget to pass.

He’s already met with the leaders of the NDP, Bloc and Greens, discussing their priorities ahead of the release of the budget on Nov. 4.

And now he talks with the top Tory – who, just two days ago, demanded the Liberals keep the deficit under $42 billion, despite forecasts from the parliamentary budget officer and financial firm Desjardins that expects a $70 billion budget.

“I think it’s unlikely that the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition will come to any sort of deal that isn’t very, very short term, and very specific in scope,” said Charles Bird, liberal strategist from Earnscliffe Strategies.

“The leader of the conservatives will come out of this and say I tried, he just won’t listen. And I think Mark Carney, the prime minister, will come out and say I tried but he just won’t listen, and that’s probably where we’ll end up,” said Will Stewart, conservative strategist from Enterprise Canada.

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But the budget vote is a confidence motion, meaning if it fails the government falls and Canadians go to the polls.

“There is no appetite for an election, I think, on anyone’s part,” said Lori Williams, a political analyst from Mount Royal University.

Williams says despite Conservative demands for Carney’s budget, forcing an election now could hurt them, or any party, by upsetting Canadians.

But she says Carney’s rare speech to the nation Wednesday night says the Prime Minister is still worried about finding enough support.

“So my guess is what he’s gonna do is try and highlight the benefits of his plan, how that’s going to be reflected in the budget, and then basically appeal to the interests of Canadians,” said Williams.

Bird also expects Carney to preview some of his budget, and possibly explain the expected large deficit in light of the U.S. tariffs.

“Very necessary relief packages for those workers that are impacted by the current state of U.S. tariffs on key Canadian sectors,” said Bird.

Stewart thinks the speech will aim at drumming up more budget support, despite the big deficit and affordability concerns.

I think they’re a little bit nervous, and they’re asking Canadians to buy into their view of the Canadian economy and their view of international relations, will it work? We’ll see. I think people are really concerned about groceries and the cost of living,” said Stewart.

That report from Desjardins forecasting a $70 billion or more deficit says it’s due to the loss of revenue from the removal of U.S. counter tariffs, an income tax cut, the cancellation of the digital sales tax and other measures.

Some reports suggest the deficit in the upcoming budget could top $100 billion.

Carney has promised the budget will include big investments in the country to boost the economy in the face of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

READ MORE: Canada’s inflation rate was up 2.4% in September: StatCan reports