How Canada was trying to pass the budged

At the very end of March, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland presented the draft budget for the new fiscal year. It immediately caused enormous controversy, even though nothing else was expected.

There was talk of a "grocery rebate," a new dental program, aid to Ukraine, and clean energy. To some budget seemed unbalanced, others thought of it as dangerous, because it might lead to inflation and may subsidize large companies.

The Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre, immediately opposed such a draft budget, but found itself in the minority. Two months later, this week, the federal budget bill passed the House of Representatives. The Conservatives and the Quebec bloc lost the fight to the Liberals and the New Democratic Party.

Pierre Poilievre presented 900 amendments to the draft, and demanded that if the Liberals didn’t heed his demands to present a plan to balance the budget and cancel any future carbon price increases, that he'd use other measures to block it.

"Does Poilievre not support dental care? ... Does he not support supports for workers or students? Does he not support the vast preponderance of what's in the budget which is for health care and for changing to the new economy?" said Government House Leader Mark Holland on Thursday. 

The liberal party won

Earlier this week, a message appeared on the government party's website stigmatizing the Conservative opponent's actions and rebuking him for not wanting to support Canadians. There, the website listed the positive aspects of the budget: measures to combat "predatory lending," doubling of the maximum deduction for tradespeople’s tools, mental health care, and more.

"While Justin Trudeau and our Liberal team are staying focused on Canadians, Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives are focused on playing partisan games that would prevent Canadians from getting the support and services they need," the website says.

The budget is passed. The deficit is projected CAD 40 billion.