O'Toole says Trudeau Liberals' budget is a 'risky Ottawa-knows-best' approach

Conservative Party Leader Erin O'Toole called the newly released 2021 federal budget a "risky 'Ottawa-knows-best' approach'" in a statement released Monday evening.

O'Toole criticized the Trudeau Liberals for what conservatives say is election campaigning during an election. "When Justin Trudeau tables his budget this afternoon, Canadians can expect the Liberal government to incur massive new financial commitments that he expects future generations to pay for," the statement says.

"Justin Trudeau's 'reimagined' economy is a risky 'Ottawa-knows-best' approach that picks winners and losers by deciding which jobs, sectors, and regions of our country will be prosperous. This unproven and incompetent economic approach threatens the personal financial security of Canadians."

"In contrast, Canada's Conservatives support Canada's Recovery Plan that secures your personal finances by recovering millions of jobs that have been lost and taking immediate action on the hardest hit sectors, helping those who have suffered the most, including women and young people.

"We will secure the economic future of Canada by creating new opportunities, more jobs, higher wages, and lower taxes."

The Trudeau government's latest budget—the first in two years—will introduce over $100 billion in new spending, leading to a $354.2 billion deficit this year. This debt will rise to over 100 percent of Canada's GDP.

Among the items announced in the budget were $375 million to help developing countries cope with COVID, $75 million over five years to "combat systemic racism" through recruitment and training reform, and other changes, and a proposed $15 minimum wage for federally regulated private-sector jobs.