MNI BRIEF: Canada Budget To Show Debt/GDP Decline- Champagne

Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Canada's Nov. 4 budget will stick to Mark Carney's campaign fiscal pledges even with major investments addressing the U.S. trade war and a bigger NATO commitment.

“The fiscal anchors that you’ve seen in the platform are the ones that you’re going to see in the budget,” Champagne told reporters Saturday after attending a meeting of European counterparts in Copenhagen. The Liberal Party platform called for lowering debt as a percentage of GDP over the budget horizon, which is usually four years.

Asked by MNI about the need for a major deficit outside a recession, he said today's situation is profound and “You’re talking about the redesigning of the world economic order that we haven’t seen for generations.” (See: MNI: Carney Deficits Are Bulwark Against Big Macklem BOC Cuts)