QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Fiscal Anchors
June 11, 2026
Senator Moreau, on Tuesday and again yesterday, you claimed that the Parliamentary Budget Officer, or PBO, had confirmed that the government is on track to achieve a declining deficit-to-GDP ratio over the medium term. That is simply not what the PBO said. On page 13 of the Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the PBO states that the probability of the deficit-to-GDP ratio declining in every year from 2026-27 to 2030-31 is less than 1%. That is not confirmation; it is a warning that the government is overwhelmingly unlikely to meet one of its own fiscal anchors.
Senator Moreau, if a financial adviser told you that there was a 99% chance of missing their target, would you call that prudent management?
What I answered yesterday, Senator Martin, is exactly this: The PBO confirmed that the federal government will have a declining deficit-to-GDP ratio over the medium term. That’s what I said, that’s what I can repeat today and that’s what I will repeat if we have a sitting tomorrow as well.
Senator Moreau, fiscal credibility depends on accuracy, transparency and accountability. A target with more than a 99% chance of being missed is not a sound fiscal anchor; it is a political cover. That is my point.
Will your government now acknowledge that the PBO’s report does not confirm its fiscal plan, but instead, raises serious doubts about whether that plan is realistic?
In line with my first answer, I will repeat, as I said yesterday, that the PBO confirmed that the federal government will have a declining deficit-to-GDP ratio over the medium term. That’s what I said.
