The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition that Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre are making promises that sound like those made in most other elections: new spending and tax cuts on things people want to hear about, such as housing and energy, and vague promises to pay for it by trimming the fat. The Post's Barbara Shecter writes, however, that this election is different, given that Canada may soon be facing a host of substantial new costs as it reconsiders its relationship with the United States in the wake of President Donald Trump's trade war. Those costs include direct support as a result of a slew of tariffs that have been imposed or threatened, as well as costs associated with reorienting the Canadian economy toward other markets, building supply chain resilience and expanding military spending. The potential for a wider economic slowdown and possibly even a revenue-sapping recession will only add to the bill. "The bottom line is it's going to be expensive," said Scotiabank economist Rebekah Young. "Irrespective of what leaders set out as their platforms ... if we find ourselves in a much darker place, they're going to have to rewrite some of those fiscal plans, or it's going to be rewritten for them."
© 2025 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.