2004 Canadian federal budget
The Canadian federal budget of 2004 was a budget for the Government of Canada. It was read in the House of Commons of Canada on March 23, 2004, by Finance Minister Ralph Goodale of the governing Liberal Party. It was prepared by Goodale with significant input from Prime Minister Paul Martin, who had previously served as Minister of Finance in the government of Jean Chrétien.
| Presented | March 23, 2004 |
|---|---|
| Passed | Not Passed |
| Parliament | 37th |
| Party | Liberal |
| Finance minister | Ralph Goodale |
| Total revenue | C$211.9 billion |
| Total expenditures | C$210.5 billion |
| Program Spending | C$176.4 billion |
| Debt payment | C$34.1 billion |
| Surplus | C$1.5 billion‡ |
| Debt | C$494.7 billion |
| Website | Budget Plan 2004 |
| ‡Surplus was used to pay down the federal debt.
‹ 2003 2005 › | |
The budget contained few surprises: most major initiatives had been announced long beforehand. These included $2 billion for health care, money for municipalities, and $1 billion to help livestock farmers harmed by the Mad Cow crisis. Government spending was set to increase at the same rate as Gross domestic product (GDP) over the next few years with any surplus going to pay down the national debt.