The deficit is up, spending is up despite claims of savings and austerity, and the cost of servicing Canada’s debt is more than what the federal government spends on health. Mark Carney’s first budget wasn’t about austerity; it wasn’t a generational shift; in fact, it wasn’t what was advertised in any way shape or form.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t worthwhile measures, but this is another example of the Carney government overselling and under delivering.

The annual spending deficit is up dramatically. Coming in at $78.3 billion, the figure is more than double the $38.9 billion deficit the government projected in the 2024 budget, and still far more than $42 billion projected in the Fall Economic Statement tabled last December.

The government is projecting that revenues will come in at

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