IFSD – The Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy at uOttawa

Former Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page goes on the investments made in the new federal budget: "Right now we got a strategy, but we have to see the implementation".

Full interview: youtu.be/tt_STtIBrDQ?...

ANALYSIS | Budget charts difficult path out of current crisis — with small margin of error | CBC News The 2025 federal budget plots a path for the Canadian economy to emerge from the current crisis. But it also highlights just how deep a hole the economy is in right now and how small the margin for er...

""If the situation deteriorates on the economic side, this [budget] will have to shift,' says @sahirkhan.bsky.social of IFSD. 'It’s about confidence in the short term, but the results of a major capital strategy & defence strategy are going to be felt over decades.'”

www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

Craving more #Budget2025 talk?

IFSD VP @sahirkhan.bsky.social was a guest on CBC Radio's Ontario Today –– answering great questions from callers on yesterday's budget.

Listen in here:
www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

What's the verdict on #Budget2025?

IFSD's Kevin Page told @globalnews.ca it was consistent with the Liberal platform but the govt's plan to build, diversify trade & attract investment will take time.

With 🇨🇦-🇺🇸 trade rupture, 1st hurdle will be passing the budget.

globalnews.ca/video/embed/...

- BNN Bloomberg Sahir Khan, vice president of Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy and former assistant parliamentary budget officer at UOttawa, joins BNN Bloomberg to

IFSD's VP Sahir Khan told BNN #Budget2025 is more a pivot than generational change, but could redefine fed governing for a decade.

Budget gets a good grade but it's a midterm mark. The final grade depends on execution, the Achilles heel of the previous govt.

👉 www.bnnbloomberg.ca/video/shows/...

Budget 2025: A Capital Investment Agenda - Policy Magazine Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne tabled Budget 2025 on November 4th, 2025. Given the spring election and the government’s commitment to change the

"Is there a consensus on the economic and political challenges facing Canada? Is this a hinge moment requiring major policy shifts or a storm that can be navigated with existing equipment?"

Read more from IFSD's Kevin Page on #Budget2025 in Policy Magazine 👇

www.policymagazine.ca/budget-2025-...

Carney's 1st budget calls for billions in new spending to prop up tariff-hit economy | CBC News Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne presented his first federal budget Tuesday and it includes big-ticket items to prop up an economy grappling with major economic disruptions but also cuts t...

IFSD's @sahirkhan.bsky.social told CBC the deficit is manageable.

"Everybody in the G7 would gladly trade positions with 🇨🇦. There is no fiscal crisis & we’re not on any precipice." But “in the end, it’s all about execution. That was the Achilles’ heel of the last govt.”
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

YouTube video by CTV News Economist doesn't think 'this a feel-good kind of budget for an average Canadian'

IFSD's Mostafa Askari spoke to CTV News about how this wasn't a "feel good kind of budget for average Canadians that they can feel right away" but has more of a long term vision "that the economy needs to pivot" to achieve better growth and higher productivity.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QewT...

Carney budget to slash public service by 16,000 over 3 years | CBC News Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget seeks to slash the public service by 16,000 full-time equivalent positions, or about 4.5 per cent of the workforce, over three years.

IFSD's @sahirkhan.bsky.social told CBC the job cut target is “relatively modest” compared to what some expected but #Budget2025 was light on detail.

"If you don’t know who’s getting cut, which programs are getting cut, how do you know what the results are going to be?”

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Budget ushers in 'transformational' era for federal public service | CBC News Budget 2025 aims to trim the size of the federal public service, but also promises an early retirement incentive, less reliance on external consultants and a made-in-Canada AI tool to be deployed acro...

IFSD's Sahir Khan told CBC uptake on the Public Service Pension Plan early retirement offer in #Budget2025 could depend on what’s actually being offered.

“I think if you were thinking of leaving...then maybe that’s an incentive to go, if the packages are generous enough."
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Ottawa plans to cut 40,000 public service jobs to find internal savings Most of the savings to be achieved through attrition, early retirement and potential layoffs

Kevin Page spoke to @theglobeandmail.com saying the spending review "is significant, but I don’t think they’re done yet.”

On the budget's bottom line he added that extra spending is understandable in light of the economic shock Canada is facing due.

More: www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

Carney’s 1st budget aims to balance ‘generational’ spending with cuts - National | Globalnews.ca The question now is whether Carney’s decision to simultaneously run a sizeable deficit while slashing public service jobs will find support among opposition parties.

IFSD's Kevin Page spoke to Global about economic growth and #Budget2025

"It has to tell people that, you know, we can do this. We can build, you know, we built infrastructure before, we can do this again. And we could do it in a very timely way."

Read more:
globalnews.ca/news/1151058...

Less than half an hour until #Budget2025 is tabled.

While you wait, check out IFSD's VP Sahir Khan speaking to CP24 about the high stakes and challenges facing the government today.

And come back after the Budget is released for more on what today's budget means for you and 🇨🇦's economy.

Follow IFSD for analysis and reaction to Minister Champagne's highly anticipated #Budget2025.

We'll look past the top line and dig into what the numbers really mean.

IFSD VP Sahir Khan told CTV about how the budget must focus on capital and investment, while affordability and employment will remain top concerns.

“I think it’s fair to say we’re dealing with trade that’s been weaponized by our largest trading partner...I don’t think it’s business as usual."

‘Government will have to respond,’ says former budget officer ahead of federal budget A former assistant parliamentary budget officer says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget will need to focus on investment and growth as Canada struggles with the fallout of a trade war with the United States.

A former assistant parliamentary budget officer says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget will need to focus on investment and growth as Canada struggles with the fallout of a trade war with the United States.

Budget : des fonctionnaires craignent l’ampleur des coupures Le premier budget Carney sera déposé mardi. Des fonctionnaires fédéraux craignent des compressions similaires à celles sous Stephen Harper et Jean Chrétien.

"...N’empêche, M. Khan prévoit que les prochains mois seront durs pour toute la fonction publique. Le PM Mark Carney demande au gouvernement d’en faire plus, il a un programme avec de l’ambition, mais il va l’implanter avec une fonction publique réduite." ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/220...

Budget 2025: Generational Investments Require Generational Scrutiny - Policy Magazine Budget 2025 will be tabled in Parliament on November 4, 2025. Expectations are high. In his pre-budget speech of October 22nd, Prime Minister Mark Carney said

#Budget2025 expected to make generational investments to transform 🇨🇦's economy.

IFSD's Kevin Page & CAAF's Lesley Burns argue people must have confidence govt oversight will be ready to meet this hinge moment.

Read more in Policy Magazine: www.policymagazine.ca/budget-2005-...

IMF head says Canada has fiscal wiggle room as larger deficit looms | CBC News The head of the International Monetary Fund says Canada is in one of the better fiscal positions among G7 nations — even though the Liberal government is set to run a higher deficit this year.

Darren Major from @cbcnews.ca: "IMF head says Canada has fiscal wiggle room as larger deficit looms. IFSD's Kevin Page comments: "It's not shocking to see a deficit go up because the economy is slowing and we have NATO commitments. To me, it's sustainable," www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Advocates denounce plan to cut federal Indigenous services budget | CBC News Advocates are warning that cutting billions of dollars from the federal Indigenous services budget, as the Carney government intends to do, could worsen the quality of essential programs and may spark...

IFSD's @sahirkhan.bsky.social on the spending review on ISC: ISC will have to ensure the federal govt's constitutional obligations, and court orders arising from them (e.g. CHRT), are upheld. But the review will also force a review of ISC program results and overhead. cbc.ca/news/indigen...

The IFSD fiscal credibility platform assessments for the New Democratic Party of Canada: ifsd.ca/2025/04/ifsd...

The IFSD fiscal credibility platform assessments for the Conservative Party of Canada: ifsd.ca/2025/04/ifsd...

The IFSD fiscal credibility platform assessments for the Liberal Party of Canada has been posted: ifsd.ca/2025/04/ifsd...

What would it take for Canada to hit 2% defence spending NATO target? - National | Globalnews.ca Experts say getting Canada's defence spending to two per cent of GDP is not as simple as moving money around and will require multiple measures and years of planning.

IFSD's Kevin Page on hitting the 2% target for defence: it would require some combination of budget deficits, spending cuts and increase in revenues or a significant reallocation from existing spending. The choices are a matter of political will. globalnews.ca/news/1105033...

IFSD convened senior officials from operators, experts, and government on resilience of ICT from Canada and abroad (with support @TELUS). Economic security and social well-being are inextricably interconnected with ICT, making resilience everyone’s concern: ifsd.ca/2025/02/disc...

Opinion: Mark Carney has a different idea of budget discipline Liberal leadership hopeful’s plan to split the government’s budget in two and balance one part of it is not the same as eliminating the deficit

IFSD's Kevin Page in Campbell Clark's piece on Mark Carney's proposed fiscal strategy: "...it would allow easier scrutiny of how well the government is controlling operating spending...It could also underline the value of capital spending on long-term assets" www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/opi...

How much has Trudeau changed Canada? | CBC News As Trudeau prepares to step down, CBC's The House spoke to experts and analysts about the legacy he leaves behind — and whether Trudeau's transformation of Canada will outlast his government.

I spoke with Catherine Cullen on CBC's The House about PM Trudeau's legacy. My comments focused on the major wealth transfer, over nearly a decade, that led to significant poverty alleviation, but at a significant fiscal and economic cost. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...