2008 Canadian federal budget
The Canadian federal budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year was presented to the House of Commons of Canada by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on February 26, 2008.
| Presented | February 27, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Parliament | 39th |
| Party | Conservative |
| Finance minister | Jim Flaherty |
| Total revenue | C$236.4 billion‡ |
| Total expenditures | C$237.4 billion |
| Program Spending | C$206.76 billion |
| Debt payment | C$30.7 billion |
| Deficit | C$5.8 billion |
| Debt | C$458.7 billion |
| Website | http://www.budget.gc.ca/2008/pdf/plan-eng.pdf Responsible Leadership |
| ‡Numbers in italics are projections.
‹ 2007 2009 › | |
The budget included a surplus of $10.2 billion to be applied to pay down federal debt, and the introduction of the Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). The government announced there would be little to no new tax breaks as major tax cuts took place in the economic update during the fall of 2007 in anticipation of economic slowdowns in 2008. It was to be the last budget of the Conservative government's first term in office.
The budget was deemed ordinary and uncontroversial by the press. The Liberal party had pledged not to push for an election in the spring of 2008, and so guaranteed their support for the budget. The Bloc Québécois had submitted a long list of budgetary demands to be met, which effectively eliminated them from budget negotiations. They voted against the budget.