Critics call out Liberals for big-ticket spending outside budget framework

A series of big-money announcements by the Liberal government this summer has critics and analysts calling out a lack of detail on Ottawa’s spending plans.

Desjardins deputy chief economist Randall Bartlett published a note earlier this month adding up the Liberal government’s spending announcements since the spring economic update in April.

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By his count, Ottawa has committed to more than $40 billion in new spending over the coming decade since the last fiscal update.

While John Fragos, spokesman for Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, won’t confirm whether Bartlett’s math is accurate, he says in a media statement that the urgent nature of global economic disruption has led the government to advance key proposals outside the typical budget framework.

Conservative finance critic Michael Chong says in an interview the Liberal government is the least transparent one Ottawa has seen in decades and warns new spending will compound already rising deficits.

Fragos says the government has been very transparent and insists Ottawa’s new capital budget framework gives Canadians a clearer picture of how federal revenues are being invested to benefit the economy and workers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2026.