Big spending, smaller deficit: key numbers from the spring economic update
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OTTAWA – Here’s a brief look at some of the key numbers in the Liberal government’s 2026 spring economic update:
$66.9 billion: Projected deficit for 2025-26, $11.5 billion lower than the projection in Budget 2025. The government predicts the annual deficit will decline to $53.2 billion by 2030-31.
$37.5 billion: Net cost of new measures included in the spring economic update over six years. The government says 45 per cent of that spending is for measures to address the cost of living and the housing shortage.
$7.2 billion: Average annual increase in federal revenues over previous budget projections.
$31 billion: Increase per year in level of nominal GDP over 2025-2029, compared to projections in Budget 2025.
$6 billion: The sum to be invested over five years in Team Canada Strong, a strategy to recruit and train 80,000 to 100,000 new workers in the skilled trades to boost housing, infrastructure and resource development and construction.
10.2 per cent: Canada’s net debt-to-GDP ratio, which the government says is considerably lower than the G7 average of 101.8 per cent.
$25 billion: The seed money Ottawa says it plans to invest to kick-start the Canada Strong Fund — even though the spring economic update doesn’t say where the money is coming from.
Zero: The number of opposition votes the Liberals need to pass the spring economic update, thanks to their new parliamentary majority.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2026.