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OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Canadian government will unveil a “fiscal and economic snapshot” on July 8 to help show much money it has spent combating the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.
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Trudeau, though, said it was still too soon to present a full fiscal update with formal mid- to long-term projections.
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The Liberal government has so far unveiled aid programs worth more than C$160 billion ($118 billion) in direct spending, or around 7% of gross domestic product.
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The snapshot on July 8 “will give Canadians an idea of where our economy is right now, how our response compares to that of other countries and what we can expect in the months to come.” Trudeau told a daily briefing.
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The government last presented a detailed picture of its finances last December. It delayed the annual budget – originally scheduled for March 30 – because of the outbreak.
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Opposition parties are demanding a full update, citing concerns about how the aid money is being spent and the size of likely future budget deficits.
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(Reporting by David Ljunggren and Kelsey Johnson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)
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