Carney says budget built for a 'crucial time' of global trade disruption

The federal budget is a "bold response" to meet a crucial moment of global trade disruption, deep divisions and accelerating technological change, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday as he began the task of selling the first government budget tabled under his watch.

"These profound changes require a bold response, and that's what we got yesterday," Carney said, at a news conference in a public transit yard in Ottawa.

Carney said the budget looks to position Canada as a global leader in manufacturing and construction while slowing spending growth over the next few years.

He was joined at the event by Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont, who left the Conservative caucus to join the Liberals on Tuesday, moving them within two votes of a majority. 

They'll need to find those votes — or abstentions — if they are to get the budget passed and survive the confidence vote which could trigger a federal election.

The budget — which includes nearly $90 billion in net new spending over five years after government cost-savings goals are taken into account — received a lukewarm reception from opposition leaders.

Carney said there's "a lot in this budget" that reflects input from other parties. He said there's alignment across the government and opposition parties on aspects of the budget.

Peter Bethlenfalvy, Ontario's finance minister, said Wednesday he spoke to his federal counterpart after the budget was released and described the spending plan as lacking "some ambition."

"It's less transformational. It's more tinkering," he told reporters at Queen's Park.

Bethlenfalvy said the budget falls short on infrastructure support for the provinces and further tariff relief for the auto sector that supports the economies of many southwestern Ontario cities.

Carney was touting a $51 billion fund for local infrastructure — bridges, roads, hospitals and transit systems — in Ottawa on Wednesday morning.

He pushed back against critics and analysts who said the budget does not do enough to encourage investment.

Carney argued the budget offers a "sea change" by reducing operational spending and ramping up government capital investment. Adjustments to the tax code allowing businesses to write off their own capital spending in the first year also make the country a more attractive place to invest in the face of protectionist U.S. policies, he said.

"Look, I've been around a lot of budgets," he said. "This is a very different budget."

Champagne will speak with business leaders during an armchair discussion in Montreal later Wednesday, where he was expected to promote the government's plan to deliver what he calls "generational, transformational investments."

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem is expected to face questions about his view on the budget when he appears Wednesday afternoon at a House of Commons committee meeting.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang