Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland announced today that the government will table its 2023 budget on March 28 in the House of Commons, at approximately 2 p.m. CST.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says Freeland could balance the budget and provide tax relief with modest spending restraint.

CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano says, “A balanced budget means less debt for Canadian kids and grandkids to pay back, less money wasted on interest charges and room to cut taxes.”

The CTF’s pre-budget submission recommends balancing the budget in 2023-24 by bringing program spending to pre-pandemic levels in 2018-19, adjusted upward for inflation and population growth. It says the federal government was spending all-time highs before the pandemic in 2018-19.

The CTF says the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s recent Economic and Fiscal Outlook projects the deficit to increase to $43 billion in 2023 and that a Leger poll shows 74 per cent of Canadians feel the average family is overtaxed.

Terrazzano says Canadians pay too much tax because the government wastes too much money.