‘We could be into a federal election campaign as early as next week’

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government will present its first budget in more than two years on Monday. This comes as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise, and vaccination efforts stall in regions across the country.

Because the Trudeau government holds a minority in parliament, it will have to gain support from the opposition in order to pass its budget. If the Liberals cannot gain support from opposition parties, Canada could find itself in an election as early as next week, says Sean Speer, fellow in residence at the Public Policy Forum.

On this episode of Crisis Management, Speer says the government's upcoming budget needs to be focused on promoting growth and productivity. "Canada's economy has basically been stagnant," he said. "It can't be enough to restore economic activity to where it was in February 2020."