A faster track to fiscal balance : 2011 shadow budget

This 2011 Shadow Budget presents a program to eliminate the federal deficit a year ahead of the track in the federal government's October Update of Economic and Fiscal Projections. We show how Ottawa can return to budget surpluses in four years through more ambitious spending restraint. This accelerated track to budget surplus will position the federal government to launch new tax and spending initiatives around mid-decade, while protecting Canadians from possible debt-market disruptions arising from sovereign-debt concerns, and putting federal debt back on a downward track before the pressure of population aging on government finances intensifies. We present a five-point plan for return to fiscal balance.