‘Everything in this budget will be driven by COVID’: former public servants, Liberal insiders lay out expectations for the pandemic budget

The Liberals prepare to table their first federal budget in two years and in the middle of a global pandemic. These 'could be game-time decisions for a lot of these measures,’ says Sahir Khan, who spent three years immersed in federal budget discussions in the PCO.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is expected to release her first budget at some point in the coming months. She will have to square her promise of ambitious stimulus spending and social programming with the uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic and Canada's economic performance over the next year, say current and former Liberals and public servants.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

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BY PETER MAZEREEUW

February 15, 2021

Expect a buttoned-down spring budget, say politicos and former government insiders, as the pandemic and vaccine rollout continue to challenge the Liberals and talk of a pending general election has faded. “In terms of shiny poni...

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